Never Assume
by the-local-parselmouth
Summary: when Draco shows up at Privet drive in the summer after Harrys 6th year Harrys world is turned upside down and he is forced to question how much of what he thinks he knows is true This is a post HBP story. It is mostly canon up to 'Order Of The Phoenix' but it may have some deviations.
1. Chapter 1

**Never** **Assume You Know The Full Story**

**Disclaimer****: I don't own Harry Potter, it obviously belongs to J.K. Rowling.**

**Warning****: Slash. Draco/Harry (Drarry)**

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At the sound of the door bell Harry sighed;he would have to be the one to answer it just as he had been the one doing all household tasks,all summer.

The Dursley's were punishing him particularly hard for the manner in which he was collected last summer. Apparently their memory of Dumbledore's visit hadn't diminished any during the year Harry was at school and so immediately upon his return he was handed a back-breaking schedule of work that was sure to consume his every waking moment.

That was the good thing about the work. No free time means no time to think about Dumbledore. Dumbledore who would never be coming to visit again. Snape and Malfoy had seen to that. He felt the bitter thought rising up like bile again. They would choke him if he let them but instead he doubled his resolve to train intensively and pushed the bitter memories aside.

It was said memories that founded his original plans for the summer,to train as hard as possible, but the Dursley's had other ideas and so he was condemned to only purchase his books in those rare snatches of free time.

Of course he couldn't perform any of the spells until his birthday next week but he could learn the theory.

More frantic doorbell ringing and Uncle Vernon's bellow of "answer that bloody door boy" broke him from his reverie and sighing again he climbed off his bed, checked he had his wand and headed downstairs.

As he got to the door the bell was pressed again and he felt his annoyance flair up. He opened the door with intentions to tell whoever it was that they really needed to learn patience and stopped dead at the sight that greeted him

His mouth fell open and he stared blankly at the blonde standing in the doorway. His surprise only lasted for a short time and Malfoy was pinned to the floor with a wand at his throat in seconds.

He couldn't hear over the blood pounding in his ears. Malfoy? Here? How did he get past the wards? Why was he here? Had he come to finish Harry off aswell in the hopes of gaining some extra credit? "Malfoy, what the fuck are you doing here?" Harry practically snarled.

He took in the other boys appearance for the first time: his hair had grown to about shoulder length and the was a dirtier blonde, his skin was a sickly grey rather than its usual flawless white and his clothes, a shirt that clearly uused to be white and tattered black trousers, where nowhere near what Harry was used to seeing on his rival.

The strangest thing by far,however, was the expression currently being formed by those aristocratic features. His face showed extreme fear and an odd dose of resignation. If he'd thought he looked bad at school, now was a hundred times worse.

He noticed that during his silent contemplation his question still hadn't been answered.

Harry jabbed his wand into the blondes protruding Adams apple and said "i'll ask again. What the fuck are you doing here?" His voice low and dangerous.

Despite the obvious fear in his eyes Malfoy plastered on a thoroughly unconvincing sneer and said in a poor imitation of his usual drawl "Really Potter? Planning to hex me here? Where all the muggles could see?"

Harry was on the verge of answering that he didn't give a shit about the Muggles when footsteps and an outraged shout of "what the devil is going on out here?" Made him turn. He found himself face to face with Uncle Vernon who's face was a violent shade of purple,the vein in his head throbbing.

Mentally shaking himself Harry tried to reign in his temper. What good would it do to avenge Dumbledore and then have the ministry show up and snap his wand?

Thinking on his feet he grabbed Malfoy by the collar, pulled him to his feet and turned to the Dursleys who by now had all congregated by the door, Dudley trying to hide behind his mother which was impossible since he is about 5 times as wide as her.

"Hogwarts business" he spat in answer to Vernons earlier uestion and they all flinched at the mention of his freakiness but the raw anger and hatred flowing through his veins must have shown because no one said anything.

Tightning his grip on Malfoys shirt he stormed off in the direction of Mrs Figg's house praying she was in.

Malfoy showed no sign of protest, why wasn't he reacting? Harry wasn't used to this lack of reaction. He knocked on the door with entirely more force than necessary, he'd never been so angry in his life. He was proud of himself for not hexing the slimy git into oblivion as soon as he saw him.

Mrs Figg opened the door slightly and peered through the gap. As soon as she saw the fuming wizard she threw open the door and pulled the two inside with surprising force,slamming the door immediately and rushing to the floo immediately after.

The familiar scent of cabbage and cats assaulted Harrys nostrils but right now all he could focus on was Malfoy.

He pinned him bodily to the wass, finally losing control of his rage and punched him in the jaw feeling the satisfying pop of bones beneath his fist.

His mind was screaming 'why isn't he retaliating? This isn't how your fights usually go' and the lack of retaliation just made him angrier. "How dare you come here? Did you seriously think that after what you did I wouldn't kill you?"

He pulled his wand, pointing it right between those usually perfectly sculpted eyebrows witht the intention to hurt Malfoy as much as Malfoy's actions had hurt him when he heard a familiar scottish acvent cry "expelliarmus."

His wand flew from his hand despite his best attempts to keep hold of it. He turned to McGonagall and glared at her but she didn't back down she just said" thats quite enough Mr Potter" in her firmest no nonsense tone but Harry was too far gone in his anger to be cowed and instead redirected his anger at the professor.

"Give me back my wand! You know what thios waste of space has done. Its time for me to teach him a lesson" he began to charge towards her but found himself struck with a body-bind.

The bubbling anger in his stomach over flowed and with a deafening crack, what must have been all of the glass in the house shattered.

He couldn't retain control of his magic anymore his mind was just a plane of red hot anger and he felt the restraint of McGonagall's spell crack. He jumped to his feet and made straight for the cause of this mess.

He managed to get in one punch and feel the bones of the blondes nose break before his world went dark.

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**To be continued...**

**Please review. :) xxx**


	2. Chapter 2

**Never Assume You Know The Full Story**

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When Harry regained consciousness the first thing he felt was an overwhelming sense of confusion.

He opened his eyes and found himself staring up at the very familiar ceiling of the Hogwart hospital wing.

'How in godrics name did I end up here?' Was his first thought. He tried to sit but found himself strapped to the bed;his confusion reached new levels.

Just then he spotted Professor McGonagall staning by the doors and he was assaulted by memories that left his mind reeling.

Had he really acted like that infront of his head of house? He felt his face heat in embarrassment. "Mr Potter I trust you are feeling calmer?" She said, her lips were pressed thinner than he had ever seen before and a stong sense of forboading begin to creep into his mind.

"Yes professor" he answered in a small voice.

"Good, that means the calming draught has worked" she replied walking over to the foot of his bed. Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew he should be angry about them giving him a potion without his consent but he couldn't summon up the anger. Damn potion!

"What happened" he croaked.

"Well,Mr Potter you totally lost control of your magic and i'm afraid I had to stun you. We bought you here,restrained you and gave you a calming potion before we even thought about casting ennervate" she fixed him with a steely stare and his shame grew to new levels.

'Its not my fault I can't always control my magic' he thought petulantly. He was just so angry at Malfoy-MALFOY

"Wheres Malfoy?" He asked. Again he knew he should be furious but he couldn't even find the anger to raise his voice.

"Mr Malfoy is also here in the castle but for obvious reasons he is in a different room"

"Why haven't you handed him straight over to the aurors?" He demanded, well as much as one can demand without raising your voice. He tried to sit again but he found his hands still tied.

"Professor could you please remove these?" She walk toward him but stopped about 3 steps away

"If I remove them, you are to stay seated until I have explained. Do you understand?"

he nodded. He could agree to that. He didn't feel like going anywhere without an explanation anyway.

she raised her wand and vanished the straps and then retreated to the chair next to the bed.

Harry sat, crossing his legs, and said" so,Malfoy"

she sighed and Harry was taken aback. He didn't think he'd ever seen her do anything like sighing. "Well, i'll get straight to the point. He says he didn't let Death Eaters into Hogwarts"

Harry spluttered "thats rediculous, of course he did! I was up there on the tower that night! He confessed" she looked sympathetic and carried on

"Whats more, he claimes he didn't even know Dumbledore was dead"

"Of course he knew! Even if he was someone other than Draco Malfoy he would know! You would have to have stayed indoors to not know!" He could feel the beginnings of fury despite the potion.

McGonagall smiled a humorless smile" well thats just the thing. He says he wasn't even at Hogwarts last year and that he spent the whole year locked in the dungeons at Malfoy Manor. He spun an elaborate tale and so" she paused knowing that Harry would not like what she was going to say next "Kingsley has insisted we uestion him under veritaserum and I quite agree. We need to know whats going on"

"Whats going on is that that slimy git let Death Eaters into Hogwarts and now he regrets it and so he's trying to worm his way back in! He is responsible for Dumbledores death! How could you believe him?"

Harry was delighted to find that he could shout again 'good, the potions wearing off' he thought.

McGonagall got to her feet "we are questioning him under veritaserum Potter,that choice is not yours to make. However, if you cease this childish behaviour you may be present for the questioning"

Harry closed his eyes and counted to 10. She was offering him a chance, he knew that. A chance for answers and merlin how he needed answers, he just needed to reign in his temper. That was possible. He counted to 10 again and opened his eyes

"Ok I will try my best to stay calm, I need to be at that interview" the lines of the professors face softened slightly and she said" I know. We all need answers Harry"

he was startles by the rare use of his first name by this usually formal woman. "I dont see how any of what he sayd can be true. I followed him around pretty much all of last year but at least we can find out why he did it. I know it was for his family but he could have come to Dumbledore for help. He was going to you know. Just as Snape arrived he was lowering his wand. About to accept help from Dumbledore"

his voice got quieter the longer he spoke and he ended up sounding choked. There were those bitter thoughts again. Crawling up his throat and wrapping their slippers tendrils around his mind.

he felt the hot sting of tears and blinked rapidly. He refused to cry again.

Suddenlt and somewhat unexpectedly he felt a hand on his arm, applying gently pressure in a show of support.

Now he couldn't hold back the tears and they spilled down his cheeks hot and salty.

the hand on his arm tightened its grip and for a while he just cried in silence.

when he looked back up at the headmistress she smiled a sad smile and said" you will get answers today Harry, i'll make sure of it"

he just nodded in respose. He couldn't speak, scared that if he opened his mouth he would accidentally tell her about how alone he felt, about missed oppertunities.

He couldn't tell her about how he felt like death was pressing closer and this was all a perverse game, picking off those around him until it was his time.

He hadn't told anybody about those things, they were too private. Not even Ron or Hermione, they had their own problems. Besides Hermione would try and get him to see a mind healer and Ron would feel totally out of his depth.

Now he was starting to feel angry again. Angry at himself for crying.

He promised himself he wouldn't do this again, not about Dumbledore and not infront of a teacher of all people.

swallowing around the lump in his throat he said" whens this questioning then?" His voice was cracked and raw

"whenever I turn up with you. Are you ready?" She replied. He wiped his face and then nodded.

"Oh and here's your wand" she said ,presenting him with the holly and phoenix feather, and then turned and walked out of the doors. Promising himself to control his temper Harry followed.

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**To be continued...**

**Please review. :) xxx**


	3. Chapter 3

When Harry entered the room the sight that greeted him was an unpleasant one;Malfoy sat at a desk looking utterly defeated, resigned, tired. It looked as though all of his fight had been sucked out of him and he was still wearing those dirty, disheveled clothes from earlier, his hair just as limp.

Fair enough Harry hated the boy but Malfoy looking proud, arrogant and well put together was always a constant in his life. Just as everything was changing so was this, Malfoy was a hollow shell of the person he was.

Sat opposite him at the desk was Kingsley managing to look his usual mixture of calm but imposing; Moody was stood behind him, looking fierce and battle worn as ever. Mcgonagall (who had walked in just ahead of Harry) took a place just to the left of the table. She held her posture rigid, lips pinched tight.

They appeared to be in an unused classroom, layers of dust dating back to Merlin knows when decorated the desks, floor and blackboard. The only disturbance being where this,oddest of groups, had entered.

Kingsley had a goblet and a vial of potion infront of him, Harrys eyes were drawn to it. Just three drops, three drops and Malfoy would be spilling his darkest secrets. Confessing to all of the atrocious things he's done.

Harry tells himself that confession will make some sort of difference to his pain- it wont, it wont bring Dumbledore back.

Only at Kingsleys cough did he realise he had been staring at the potion, obviously, for longer than was necessary. His eyes darted up to see Kingsley and Mcgonagall looking at him with twin expressions of concern, Mad-eye looking at him in confusion. "sorry" he piped up, just to end the silence

"It's OK, take a seat Harry. If you don't mind I would really like this questioning to be over. We have much to decide" Kingsley replied in his deep, soothing voice.

Harry took a seat at the desk next to the one Malfoy and Kingsley were sharing and tried to decide where would be the least awkward place to look.

"Mr. Malfoy do you agree to answer any questions we may have about your loyalties,political views,where abouts this last year or any questions we feel are related to those topics under the influence of Veritaserum?" Kingsley said.

Malfoy nodded, barely even that. If Harry weren't watching him so intently he wouldn't have noticed the small movement of the head.

"OK then sign here please" Kingsley pushed a piece of parchment and a quill towards the blonde. He signed it and as soon as he put the quill down the parchment sealed itself and disappeared.

The Auror summoned some water in the goblet and added the potion silently passing it towards Malfoy who took it and downed it whole without flinching.

"Is your name Draco Malfoy?"

"yes" the blonde replied looking slightly annoyed.

"OK, Where were you during this last academic year?"

"In the basement at Malfoy Manor" came the boys immediate response. Harry's Jaw dropped, how? How had he managed to trick the potion like that? Its supposed to be impossible.

"are you sure that veritaserum is made correctly?" Harry blurted before he could stop himself. He could hear the outrage dripping off his own voice.

"positive, it was made by Professor Slughorn himself just last night. If you would like to question him on his abilities then please feel free to do so later, otherwise I suggest you hold your tongue" Mcgonagall barked

"sorry professor" Harry relied looking sheepish.

Kingsley continued "so you were in the basement at Malfoy Manor all year? Right from the summer at the end of your 5th year up until you showed up at number 4 Privet Drive?" He didn't sound disbelieving just confused.

"Yes I was locked in the basement and I only managed to escape the very day that I showed up in that awful muggle dump" Malfoy ground out clearly annoyed.

"Locked in? By who?"

Malfoy's face tensed, you could see he was fighting the potion. Willing it not to make him answer but of course, his attempts were futile "My father" he blurted out and then covered his mouth.

There were gasps from everyone present, Lucius? He was in prison. Harry had seen to that and Malfoy had made sure that Harry never forgot that Harry was the one who put his father in prison.

Kingsley frowned "your father? He's in Azkaban! And even if he wasn't why would he lock you in the basement of your own home?"

"Was, was in Azkaban. I don't know the details or how he escaped but you can guess it has something to do with The Dark Lord. I would say he spent 5 days at most in that horrible place. As to why he locked me up, I don't know. Why would I? All he said is that it was for my own good and that I would thank him one day."

now he had started talking about it he didn't seem to be able to stop. " he greeted me when I arrived home at the end of 5th year, he looked anxious and ill. I knew better than to ask what was escorted me to the largest of the basements. I asked him why it had suddenly been fully furnished and he walked out, pulled the door closed, told me it was for my own good, that I would thank him and left"

By now the auror looked furious, Mcgonagall looked like she didn't know what to believe anymore, Moody's weather beaten face, however, showed only indifference.

"my god boy how did you survive?" the professor exclaimed in shock

"The house elves still answered my summons. They would bring me everything I needed. I didn't see father, or anyone for that matter, for the whole year"

"and how did you escape?" Harry butted in, unable to hold in the question any longer.

Malfoy flashed him an annoyed glare "I finally managed to convince Cura that father was holding me there against my will and I needed to escape. She was the elf that was personally assigned to me as a child. Apparated me out of there, god knows how she will have to punish herself for this"

To Harry's surprise Malfoy actually looked concerned. He began to think that he may be at least a small bit human. That is until he said " and anyway this isn't a free for all. I don't remember agreeing to answer Potters questions"

Annoyance flaired inside his stomach and he glared at the paler boy "shut up Malfoy, just be thankful that I'm willing to even think about believing you. After all you've done".

The other young wizard still looked annoyed but didn't say anything, he surveyed Harry calculatingly and a small measure of his previous defiance was visible in those pointy features once again.

"on to the next part of the questioning if you all don't mind" Kingsley shot everyone a slightly annoyed look and carried on "You say you didn't know about Dumbledores death. Is this true?"

"yes"

"how is that possible?" Mcgonagall said more to herself than anyone but Malfoy, compelled by the potion said "I've been locked in a basement, they don't exactly deliver The Daily Prophet down there."

The professors eyes widened at the obvious cheek being shown but before she could retort Kingsley interrupted.

"and you did not let death eaters into Hogwarts?"

"no, I don't see how I very well could from a basement" came the blondes vexed reply

"yes thank you Draco, we had to ask" Kingsley replied. "do you have any idea who did let death eaters into Hogwarts and who, for that matter impersonated you without detection, for a year?"

"no I'm sorry, I'm afraid I don't" he looked genuinely sorry and Harrys confusion climbed to new hights. His mind was spinning- someone had been impersonating Draco Malfoy for a whole year? It wasn't him that disarmed Dumbledore.

It wasn't him that let Greyback in, resulting in Bills scarring. He was severely shocked and he felt dizzy.

He could still hear the questioning but it sounded distant "do you have The Dark Mark?"

"no of course I don't"

"do you plan to receive The Dark Mark?"

"no. Contrary to popular opinion I do not wish to bow down to some crazed lunatic without a nose"

"are you willing to accept help from the order? Live somewhere that we deem suitable until September and then return to Hogwarts for your final year"

It took Harry a second to realise what he had heard and promptly splutter and demand "help?! From The Order? Have you forgotten who this is?"

Malfoy glared at him Mcgonagall opened her mouth to snap answer but it was surprisingly Moody who answered.

Speaking for the first time since Harry entered the room he said "are you deaf boy? He has just told us, under Veritaserum that he is innocent. I still don't trust the lad but we have a duty of protection"

Harry opened his mouth to argue that they had no duty what so ever where Malfoy was concerned but at the murderous glare he was receiving from Mcgonagall he closed it again and scowled.

Malfoy looked at him with loathing written across his face but then turned back to kingsley and snapped

"yes, obviously, I'm not going to go strolling back to the Manor and I don't see I have anywhere else to go" That familiar look of well worn annoyance tinged with superiority was back.

The man, to his credit, ignored the younger boys rudeness and said "very well then. If you would follow me, Professor and Mad-Eye, we have much to discuss." he got to his feet.

"young Malfoy, Harry, you are to go to your common rooms. Someone will come and fetch you later and inform you of what is happening"

As soon as the three adults left Malfoy jumped to his feet and practically ran from the room. Harry did no such thing, infact he didn't think he remembered how to move. He didn't know how long he sat there but all the while so many thoughts were bouncing around his mind he felt sick.

Finally climbing to his feet he headed in the direction of the Gryffindor common room hoping that he would be able to find some peace in sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Never Assume Chapter 4

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The next morning found yesterday's group once again in the unused classroom.

Harry was slumped at a desk having bbeen shaken awake by a somewhat irate McGonagall (turns out she had been trying to wake him for 10 minutes).

He hasn't managed to fall asleep until the small hours,his mind full of all of yesterdays revelations. His grief had been easier to manage when he had someone to blame.

To be honest he was still having trouble separating the person that had helped bring about Dumbledores death and Draco Malfoy; For such a long time they had been one and the same.

Draco was rigidly seated at the desk next to Harry looking a little more like his old self. Unlike the dark haired wizard he hadn't needed to be shaken awake because he hadn't slept at all.

Yesterday he had revealed so much but the day had also been one for discovery. Someone had been impersonating him for a whole year and this imposter had done a good enough job that they hadn't even been suspected.

The next big issue on his mind was Dumbledore- he didn't even know what to think about this.

Dumbledore had been Draco's main hope,he hated to say it but he had hoped that upon escaping the manor and finding Potter's Muggle residence he would be taken to the headmaster who would protect him.

Now what hopes did he have? The old fool may have been willing but no one else was as forgiving.

Especially saint Potter, he would never forgive, Draco was sure of that. All the other fools lived to serve their golden boy. If Potter didn't want Draco protected, Draco wouldn't be protected and that would be the end of that.

He was just waiting to be told to leave by McGonagall or worse arrested by the auror that had questioned him yesterday-Kingsley was it?.

Despite all of this Draco held his posture and allowed no emotion to cross his features. He had already broken down infront of them quite enough yesterday thank you.

No, no matter the outcome of this little meeting Draco would be dignified, yesterday he had been weak but no more.

The three adults were gathered infront of the two desks, McGonagall looking at the fairer boy with undisguised sympathy and concern.

Harry briefly thought it was odd for her to show such emotion openly, maybe she didn't know.

Moody was also staring at Malfoy but his gaze held no such emotions. He was looking at the boy as if he had just discovered a new and vulgar looking creature and was wondering where it came from.

Kingsley looked as calm as ever but he had the faint air of someone who was about to deliver bad news. His hands were clasped behind his back and he refused to look at either of the younger wizards seated in front of him, resignation written all over his face.

Harry turned to look at Malfoy,expecting to see him squirming under the gaze of the headmistress and the ex defence professor but to his surprise found him valiantly ignoring the two, staring straight ahead.

He couldn't read the others face but then again that was the thing about Malfoy-you rarely could.

The silence stretched on and on and Harry allowed his mind to wander. He was thinking longingly of his four poster bed back in the tower when Kingsley finally spoke up.

"Mr Malfoy, due to your circumstances we have had to think long and hard about where the safest place for you to stay until you return to Hogwarts is."

Draco finally stopped staring at the wall and flicked his eyes to the auror

"And you have decided?" He asked with one eyebrow arched. The nerves and surprise he was feeling showed, even if only for a moment.

"We have decided the best place to temporarily house you is the Weasley residence"

Kingsley paused again when both the young Wizard's jaws dropped.

"Harry will be going with you and you will stay there for the duration off the holidays. There were other options but this was the only place we could find that had constant adult supervision and is also safe enough to keep the Death Eaters out"

Draco couldn't breathe; yes he should be greatful that they are helping him at all but they are sending him to a place full of people that he has taunted endlessly for years.

He would get no peace, there would be constant taunts about his family and worst of all was the fact that Draco knew he deserved it all.

Back when he had followed his father without question he had given all of these people hell and they had every right to retaliate.

He looked across to see how the Gryffindor was taking it and discovered that Potter seemed to have gotten over his shock because he jumped to his feet and began shouting

"Malfoy at the Burrow? Have you even asked Mr and Mrs Weasley about this? Ron's going to be furious, how can you expect them to take him in after everything he has said and all his father has done to the Weasley's?"

Everyone present could see the rage boiling behind his eyes, he was beyond furious.

Yes he would be glad to get away from the Dursley's early and spend his birthday at the Burrow but with Malfoy?

He may not have let Death Eater's into Hogwarts but that didn't erase his behaviour before sixth year, he was still a prick.

Despite the fact that Draco had been thinking the same he couldn't allow Potter to talk about him.

"Don't worry Potty, I have no desire to go anywhere near the Weasel's filthy pit."

He knew he was making it worse for himself but he couldn't help it.

Potter advanced on the Slytherin and turned to face the adults, thrusting his arm out in the direction of the blonde and shouting

"See, still the same old Malfoy."

He turned to look at him and continued in a low, dangerous voice

"Well if you don't want out help we could always send you home. I'm sure your lord will be very disappointed when he discovers he has something missing."

He smirked in satisfaction when Draco paled, but a second later the taller boy was on his feet and shouting, inches from the darker boy's face.

"He is not my lord! How many times do I have to tell you? And I don't want anything from you Potter, I came to ask for the help of people who actually know what they are doing."

"How dare you?" Potter drew his wand but McGonagall had finally had enough.

"Potter outside now!" She barked. Harry shot a dark look at Malfoy but tucked his wand away and headed for the exit, the headmistress following closely behind.

As soon as the door shut she turned and fixed him with her sternest glare,lips pressed tightly together.

"Potter, Mr Malfoy is bound to be very upset at the moment I would thank you not to make it worse," she said in a harsh voice.

Harry scowled at her" I dont care how upset he is. Why in Merlins name does he have to stay at the Burrow?"

"Kingsley explained the reasons: constant adult supervision and safety"

His brow furrowed in confusion "Why does he need constant adult supervision?"

She sighed in exasperation. "Because, Mr Potter, we do not want any more episodes like the one at Arabella Figg's or the one in that classroom."

At this Harry just felt more confused "But how will that happen? Who will he argue with? Himself?"

The Professor had the urge to shake the boy until she could hear his brain rattling about just to prove that he had one but she took a deep breath and explained.

"It's not Mr Malfoy's habits of conversing with himself we are worried about, whether they exist or not, its you. You see, you have to stay with him."

"Like fuck I do! Why do I have to stay with the ferrety git?" McGonagall's nostrils flared "language! You have to stay with him because you are the best to protect him when there is not an adult around"

She sighed and continued "not just from Death Eaters but from your friends as well. They are bound to be harsh on him and I implore you not to be so."

At his outraged look, she said "Imagine how he must be feeling, try for some empathy. His own father locked him in the basement for a year, his mother did nothing to intervine and now he has Death Eaters hunting him. The least you could do is not be openly hostile towards him"

He snorted and said "oh yes, can't imagine what it must feel like to be hunted by Death Eater's and not be able to go to your parents."

McGonagall shot him a pleading look and he felt his resolve crumbling. Everything she was saying was true.

Malfoy must have gone from feeling like he had everything to feeling like he had nothing.

No matter how much he hated him he couldn't be responsible for adding to that misery and all because of a school boy rivalry.

He sighed and ran his hand through his hair and said resignedly "I'll try."

The headmistress gave him a tight smile and said "That's all I can hope for now come. We will floo ahead to the Burrow, Kingsley will bring Malfoy later."

He ran a hand over his face and nodded. At least he would get to see his family.

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To be continued...

Please review. :) x


	5. Chapter 5

Stepping out of the grate with his usual grace Draco chanced a look around and found himself greeted with the expected sight- an army of redheads, most looking openly Hostile.

Weasel king was slouched in a chair a scowl to rival all others etched across his weaslette, potty and the mudblood were stood to the side of the room having a hushed conversation and those infernal twins were surveying the scene with ill- disguised glee at the very awkwardness of the situation.  
Just then Draco's observations were interrupted as Mrs Weasley rushed towards him and gathered him up in her arms "oh you poor dear, what an ordeal! And just look how Thin you are! Don't worry I can fix that" she released the now scowling boy from her bosom and held him at arms length as if for an inspection. She frowned at his Disheveled appearance and turned to look at the others present

"Ginny please show him to Percy's old room, Harry, Hermione and Ron you will all be needed in the kitchen now get to it!" no one moved, the conversation that was taking Place had now stopped and everyone was staring at Malfoy. The only people who didn't look as if they wanted to hex him into next week were Granger (who was looking at him With-how dare she!- Pity) and the twins (who just looked mildly curious).

Mrs Weasely turned to glare at everyone "well come on! Dinner wont make it's self and Draco wants to relax!" when still no one moved she barked "now!" and finally with a sigh Ginny walked towards the stairs and called back "come on Malfoy"

Not looking at anyone in the room he made to follow her, ominous thoughts practically leaking from his ears. This was going to be worse than he expected, how would he even Last 24 hours? Potter had already tried to fight him twice, succeeded once and now the rest of the weasel family looked as though they wanted to fight him themselves.

Well except those twins, but he had a feeling he had more to fear from them looking happy than from anyone else, and the mother. Her behavior bought a sickness to Draco's Gut. What had he done to deserve her kindness? After all he had said about her family she should be joining the queue to hex him but instead she was mothering him.  
That was another thing, that hug. No one but his mother ever hugged him and he missed her terribly. She would hug him all the time, contrary to popular opinion she was not a Cold woman, at least not to her family. She always seemed to know when there was something on his mind, or when he needed reassurance and she would be there, with her Kind words and her wonderful hugs. Hugs that he hadn't seen for over a year now and just to be hugged by someone bought tears to his eyes. No, there would be no more Hugs lest he break down infront of everyone.

Lost in his reverie Draco didn't realise that Ginny had stopped an consequently walked straight into her. As a reflex he shot out a hand to steady her and said "sorry".  
When she had righted her self she turned and fixed him with a curious look "its OK, no harm done" she said. Looking confused she turned and opened the door to the room They had stopped infront of.

"This is where you'll be staying. It was Percy's old room but that git hasn't lived here for a while now. Don't worry mum put clean sheets on the bed and cleaned the Whole room just yesterday". Walking past her he examined the room, it wasn't big but the size was enough for just one person. The bed looked moderately comfortable and The only other things in the room were a mirror, a wardrobe and a writing desk.

Thankful for the fact that he had somewhere to stay Draco said "thank you, this will do just fine" and gave the weaslette a tight smile. At this she looked even more shocked As she replied "don't worry about it. The toilet is down this flight of stairs. I'll come and get you when dinner is done,yes?"

"thank you but I don't think that will be necessary. I'm not hungry, I wish to just be left alone"

"yeah because mum will allow that, do you even know who my mother is? She will not let you go without dinner. Didn't you hear her when you first arrived" at this she launched into quite an accurate impression of her mother that actually made Draco laugh for the first time in ages.

Turning to leave she shot him a smile and said "I'll bring you some dinner up OK? I can understand why you don't want to eat where my lovely brother will be death glaring You. Don't worry about Ron, he's just angry. I'm sure he will come around eventually. None of us really even know you, you've just proven that to me."

Smiling sadly at her he just replied "thank you" and then turned and flopped down on the bed. One thing was for certain. These next few weeks would be some of the longest In his life.

Downstairs everyone gathered in the kitchen turned to look expectantly at Ginny as she came through the door. She took a seat at the table and said "well that was a surprise".

"what? Did that slimy git try to hex you, I swear to Merlin I will kill him" Ron demanded.

"don't be stupid Ron. He doesn't even have a wand. He was just different than I expected that's all. He was really thankful for the room and I even made him laugh"

"Thankful? Laughing? Malfoy? Are you sure you weren't hallucinating?" Harry piped up. "these last times I've seen him he's still been exactly the same as he was before"

At this Ginny sighed and said, with the air of trying to explain something complicated to someone incredibly slow "yes but I bet you were being rude to him weren't you?"

"well he wasn't exactly a basket of roses himself" Harry said in self defense.

"yes well he's never been exactly pleasant to me but just now I wasn't rude to him and so he wasn't rude to me. I said I would take his dinner up to him-"

"what?! Is the ponce too good to come and sit at the table like everyone else?" Ron shouted

"no Ron but you know what your like! Would you like to eat your dinner sat at a table of people who look like they want nothing more than to hex you"

"That wouldn't stop our Ronnekins" said Fred

"no, when it comes to food, nothing short of a rampaging hippogriff could stop him" added George

Scowling at them Ron said "there's nothing wrong with having a healthy appetite. And as for Malfoy if he wanted the pleasant life then he shouldn't have come here"

"That's quite enough, all of you! Poor Draco didn't exactly have a choice as to where he went and I said we would take him in now that is the end of it" Mrs Weasely said Putting an end to their discussion.

Frowning at Ginny Ron leaned over and whispered to Harry "just because she has decided to defend the ferret doesn't mean we all will" Harry nodded in response and then Set about peeling the potatoes that Mrs Weaslely had given him to peel when they had first moved to the kitchen.

Harry was happy, he was full from a delicious home made dinner, his evening had been decidedly Malfoy free and now he was sat in the living room of the Burrow with Hermione Playing a relaxed game of exploding snap.

When he had first heard that Malfoy was going to be staying at the Burrow he had worried that moments like this would cease to exist but no, ever since Malfoy had arrived And been shown to his room a few hours ago no one but Ginny had seen even a glimpse of him (and that was because she appeared to have taken leave of her senses and not Only take Malfoy his dinner but check that he was OK at least twice).

As is always the case though this relaxed attitude could not be allowed to last, lest Harry actually be happy for more than five minutes. Putting down her cards and leaning back on the sofa Hermione said "Harry, how do you feel now you know that it wasn't really Malfoy last year?"

His head shot to the side and his eyes opened extra wide with the surprise of the unexpected question. " I don't know to be honest. I've been trying not to think about it."

Giving him a kind smile Hermione said "but of course you can think of nothing else". He sighed as a response, lay his head back and closed his eyes. She put a comforting Hand on his leg and continued "I know that this doesn't change everything that Malfoy has done but it changes a lot. Are you really going be vile to him because of a School boy rivalry?"

Sitting up straight in indignation Harry replied " He deserves the way I treat him. He can't get away with everything he has done to us over the years. And he's a Death Eater-"

At this she interrupted " no he's not Harry! Do you really think he would have been locked away by his father if he was?"

Not willing to give in that easily he replied "well he would be a Death Eater if he didn't have to run from them now. You know his views,I mean just look at what he calls you"

"I know, and I wont forget that but what I'm trying to say is that now everything is bigger than that. This is a war, its bigger than name calling. Draco needs our help.  
He's gone from having everything to having nothing. Can you imagine how he must be feeling? You can sympathise slightly because now he is essentially parentless but you Can't imagine the pain of having parents and then losing them. On top of everything they locked him away! His own parents locked him away! Imagine how that would feel."

"I know 'mione but its just so hard to forget. In my head it is still him that is standing at the top of the astronomy tower. I can't change what I saw and whilst he still Features in those nightmares I don't think I can forgive him." Harry felt the burn of tears behind his eyes and screwed them closed, determined not to breakdown.

Hermione wrapped her arms around him " oh Harry I know how hard this must be for you. You know I'm always here right?"

Sighing he replied "of course but if you don't mind I think I'll just go to bed. Its been a long day". He stood, stretched and headed towards the door. His call of " good night"  
was answered with an equally quiet call of "sleep well" by the bushy haired girl. With sad eyes she just watched his retreating form ascend the stairs. 


	6. Chapter 6

Here's chapter 6! Sorry for the delay, I was busy.

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On his first morning at The Burrow consciousness came quickly to Draco; he woke panting and sweating from his most recent nightmare.

In this dream it had been Dracos birthday and he had met with a ministry representative who was here to tell him that there had been some awful mixup at birth and Draco was infact a Weasely.

He had explained that this wasn't possible as he didn't have ghastly red hair to which the representative had held up a mirror and to his horror Draco had been faced with a version of himself with Weasely red hair.

During all this his father had stood to the side of the room, his face screaming his disapproval until his mother had arrived and lead Lucius away without even looking at Draco.

Shooting upright,eyes wide open Draco wiped the sweat off his brow and surveyed the room he was in.

It took a moment for him to remember where he was but when he did he wanted to cry.

What did it say about his life that his most pleasant conversation all year had been yesterday with the girl weasely- no- Draco realised he would have to modify his thoughts.

If she was the only person willing to be nice to him then he would have to accept it and be more pleasant.

With this is mind Draco dressed in some old clothes that had been placed at the end of his bed and headed in search of breakfast.

As he reached the bottom of the stairs the delicious smell of bacon filled his nostrils and his hunger increased ten-fold.

Knocking on the door to announce his presence to the Weasely matriarch, he entered the kitchen.

"Morning dear would you like some breakfast? Come on, sit at the table and I'll serve you some up" she greeted him smiling warmly.

Draco took his seat and gave a small smile "thank you and thank you for allowing me to stay at your home." Draco replied, determined to stick to his earlier resolve of being nicer to the Weaselys. Well except the weasel.

She smiled fondly at him and began piling eggs,toast,bacon sausages and mushrooms on his plate.

"Nonsense, I'm always happy to help" she grinned.

With a tight smile in her direction Draco began to eat. To be honest he attitude towards him was unnerving.

After all he had said about her family she should hate him. His father was the one responsible for the near death of her daughter for Salazars sake!.

His thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of the mu- Granger. She smiled an obviously fake smile and said " morning Mrs Weasely, Draco"

"Morning love, sit doen,that's it" responded the busy red-head as she shepherded the girl into a seat and served her breakfast.

"Morning" Draco replied in a flat tone. Yes she was trying but he would rather fight than deal with this fake kindness.

"How are you this morning Malfoy,have you settled in?"

He had to refrain from rolling his eyes. So it was to be a conversation comprised of phatic talk.

"I'm well thank you and I'm adjusting"

"That's good. How are you planning to catch up with your studies? After all you have missed a whole year!"

He should have know that it wouldn't take long for Granger to get onto the subject of school work. At least this was fairly neutral ground.

"Mcgonagall informs me that I am to be tutored in the 6th year work during this holiday and the beginning of 7th year. It will be basic tutoring but of course I can and will be furthering my education myself. Plus I already know a considerable amount of the 6th year syllabus"

Granger had adopted a thoughtful expression "I don't know what I would do if I missed a whole year of school! The panic would be too much because if you spen too much time learning 6th year work then you could fall behind in 7th year. Sounds awfully stressful".

Draco smiled wryly "I'm sure you would be fine Granger. With your brains I find it hard to imagine you ever struggling with work"

Draco's eyes widened when he realised he had complimented her. Yes he had resolved to be nicer but this was taking it to far. However Granger beamed from ear to ear and this smile seemed to change something.

Draco didn't know what had changed but whatever it was made sure they had a comfortable and somewhat pleasant chat for the rest of the time it took them to eat.

Just as Draco pushed his plate away and announced that he really was full (mrs Weasely was offering him thirds) the Weasel and Potter entered the kitchen looking like they were still asleep.

Upon seeing the blonde Rons eyes widened. "What are you doing?" He demanded.

Draco was about to bite out a sufficiently scathing retort but to his surprise Granger jumped in first. She sighed and said

"He's eating breakfast. He is staying here afterall and he has to eat. We were just having a wonderful conversation and we plan to continue"

Draco veiled his surprise and opened his mouth with a view to continuing said conversation but weasel interrupted again.

"A conversation with him? Why? And what in Godrics name were you talking about?" He looked honestly confused.

"We were talking about school work and I spoke to him because he was here and I felt like it"

"But 'mione what about all the names he's called you and all he's done? He only wants to talk to you now because he has no one else"

He looked to Harry to back up but Harry just shrugged and tucked into a slice of toast. He didn't feel much like arguing and besides, Malfoy and 'Mione had only been talking. Its not like she was proclaiming them best friends.

"What! That's what you think? That I'm only worthy when there's no one else?" Hermione demanded, nostrils flaring.

"That's not what I meant-"

"You are so ignorant of others feelings!" She interrupted.

"Come on 'mione please don't start, your always starting arguments and I won't argue because of Malfoy.

Ron only realised that this was the wrong thing to say after he had said it. Hermione looked apocalyptic with rage and her face was so red it would not seem out of place if steam were to flow from her ears. She jumped to her feet

"Have you ever considered that you are the source of all our arguments? You and your incredible lack of tact if you don't want to argue over Malfoy let's argue over the fact that everything seems to be my fault"

The red head looked helpless, he held his palms out in a sign of surrender and said

"You know what I meant"

"Actually I'm not sure I do. Draco come one let's go else where so we can have a civilised conversation. We obviously won't be able to have one here." She punctuated this with a glare at Ron who's head was now maroon.

"Oh it's Draco now? " He shouted.

"Yes it is!" Was the shouted response before the bushy haired teen grabbed Dracos arm and pulled him from the room.

Ron stared at the door exasperated "mate, why didn't you back me up?"

"Sorry, I just didn't feel like arguing. Besides I try to stay on 'mione's good side as often as possible"

"Well thanks for the support" Ron huffed and with a final glare at Harry tucked into his breakfast.

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To be continued...

Review it please. :) xx


	7. Chapter 7

Things at the Burrow were not running smoothly. A week had passed since the breakfast argument and still Ron and Hermione weren't talking. Every time the two happened upon each other the air would be filled with Hermione's outraged huffs and Ron's pleading sighs.

Ginny, Hermione and Draco found that they were spending a lot more time together.

At first they had just been studying-Ginny was using this as an opportunity to get ahead in her studies for the upcoming year- but the more time they spent together the more they found themselves slipping into friendly comfort.

Situations between the golden trio were fraught. With Hermione and Ron not talking and the fact that Harry seemed to be spending more and more time alone of late there had not been a single civil conversation between all three of them since Harry had arrived.

Not only was Harry becoming reclusive but when he was with the others he always seemed distant, like his mind was elsewhere.

After a few days of people trying,and failing, to engage him in conversation they came to an unspoken agreement to leave him to his thoughts.

Even his birthday passed quietly. He had argued with Molly that he didn't want any celebration but after an hour of arguing he had agreed that they could have a special dinner.

Said dinner had been filled with tension and conversation had notably been absent.

He hadn't even opened his presents yet,just dumped them in the corner of his room, not being able to muster up the energy to care what he had received for his coming of age.

Harry couldn't decide whether he was glad to be left in peace or furious that he had been left to brood.

Ever since what he called 'the Malfoy revelation' his thoughts had been repeating the same depressing cycle.

Even his training had taken a back seat and he hadn't picked up a book since he left the Dursleys but again, he couldn't seem to care.

He knew that he shouldn't hate Malfoy for the whole Astronomy tower issue but it was just so hard for it to sink in.

In his minds-eye he could see the scared blonde admitting everything. How could he convince his mind that what he had seen was not true?

Some defiant part of him screamed that he still didn't have to like the boy. After all he had done over the years Harry had a right to be mad.

But deep down he knew that they were headed towards a full blown war. He couldn't hold on to silly childish rivalries. He had bigger things to focus his attention on now, things like hunting horcruxes.

Pushing those to the back of his mind he decided to refrain from arguing with the blonde.

One of the aspects that made his feelings so confused was the fact that at least some small part of him felt deep sympathy for the boy.

He had gone from having everything to having nothing, no, to having everything taken away from him. Harry couldn't imagine how it must feel for Malfoy to know that his own father locked him away.

He may be confused but he wasn't cruel. He would not add to the poor boys torment by making him uncomfortable in the only place he could stay.

And so these thoughts repeated and plagued Harrys mind 24/7 and still he made no progress, received no answers as to how he actually felt.

He knew locking himself away was now helping but the more he saw Malfoy the greater the temptation became for him to talk to him and he wasn't sure he was ready for that.

Sighing he lay back on his bed and resigned himself to yet more repetitive thinking.

Draco had almost choked on his breakfast when he had seen the familiar handwriting on one of the letters that had arrived this morning.

Mrs Weasely had handed him his post (two envelopes) and he had opened and read the first with nothing more than mild interest.

It was from McGonagall explaining that his tutoring would begin a week from today and he was to floo to her office 3 times a week where she would tutor him herself for 2 hour periods.

She had made sure to express that he needed to use this time effectively as she was 'an exeptionally busy woman' although she had also made sure to make it clear that she was glad to be tutoring him and to his surprise Draco found he believed her.

However when he turned over the next envelope his heart momentarily stopped and he felt all the blood drain from his face.

He had set aside the envelope, tried to finish his breakfast, even though everything now tasted like cardboard, and then excused himself explaining to the girls that he felt unwell and perhaps they could study later.

Now stood in his room, holding the envelope his body was thrumming with anticipation.

Slowly he broke the seal and with shaking hands he pulled the parchment free and began to read:

_My Dragon,_

_I understand that you cannot relay your current place of residence to us but I hope with all my heart that you are safe and well._

_It may come as something as a shock to be hearing from me but I must impress upon you that your father thought his actions were best._

_I cannot explain more here only that I tried to convince him that there must be another solution but when I failed to produce one I conceded to his wishes._

_I implore you to see that we love you as we always have and I positively ache to see your face._

_You may wonder why I am only writing now- the wards alerted us to your escape and I could not get away to send this letter until now._

_All out post is being monitored and I wished this for your eyes alone. For this reason I ask that you refrain from replying to this somewhat unsatisfactory missive._

_I know you must have many questions and I will be in touch with a date and a place to meet should you deign to do so._

_Love always,_

_Mother._

When he reached the end Draco could feel the steady flow of hot tears sliding down his pale cheeks. Tears that he had become well acquainted with this past year.

Tears of happiness that his mother still loved him, as he always knew she did, that she had finally gotten in touch and that he would finally get some answers.

But also tears of sadness: sadness and anger. His sorrow mainly stemmed from his ache to see his family. To hear his fathers voice and feel his mothers embrace.

The anger from the fact that in his mind there was no excuse for locking him up for a year.

This letter only added more seeds to his already blossoming harvest of confusion. What possible reason could they have for locking him away?

And why couldn't they explain to him? How often was the dark lord at the Manor if communications were being watched? And what would his mother do when they met?

Would she take him back to the Manor? Lock him up again? Would he be expected to serve the dark lord? Did he even want to return to the manor?

Feeling dizzy with confusion he spelled his door to remain locked and collapsed onto his bed, his body shaking with the force of his sobs.

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**To be continued...**

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	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: some Dramione feels could be found in this but i promise this is a DRARRY!**

**also i'm having some problems with my laptop right now so i dont know when my next update will be but i thank you for your patience and for reading.**

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Hermione was worried, she'd seen Draco's reaction when he had recieved that letter the other had tried to act normal and excused himself as ill and she had let him but it had been 3 days since and he had only left his room for meals.

She was determined to find out what was going on. He had seemed fine when he had read his first letter but he didnt even have to oen the second for his face to fall. Whose handwriting could cause such a reaction?

sinc Draco had arived at The Burrow she had been spending more and more time with him and Ginny and found she was enjoying their company.

They studied, they had academic conversations and overall she found that,when he didn't hate you, Draco was pleasant to be around.

If only Ron would stop being vile and Harry would actually come back to earth long enough to realise that he and Draco would get on. They would-she was sure of it.

Even if her two friends came to their senses right now it would be useless. Draco was noticably absent very often- a fact that never failed to please Ron. He would be very vocal about his joy that 'that slimy git has stopped lurking around' which would in ,turn only ,infuriate Hermione further.

She would find out what was wrong with Draco and she would do it today.

Getting to her feet she began to head towards Draco's room. She would not allow him to recede into himself. One recluse in the house was more than enough!

Knocking on the door she called out "Draco?". There was the sound of movement and then the door was pulled open to reveal the confused looking teen.

"Dinner already?" he asked.

She surveyed his appearance; she'd never get used to him wearing Ron's clothes. At school he always looked so impecably put together, seeing him in patchy jeans and a holey jumper was disconcerting.

"No actually, not dinner. i just wanted to talk to you. Can i come in?"

He sighed and then said "i suppose so". Backing away from the door he took a seat on his bed and then waited for Hermione to shut the door and follow is example.

"so, what is it?" he asked when it became apparent that she would not speak first.

She raised an eyebrow "you know what it is. Why are you hiding away in here?"

Draco rolled his eyes. Yes he did know that this was what she had come to talk to him about but did she hae to be so blunt? of course she did, she was a Gryffindor.

" I don't know what your talking about, Malfoys don't hide" he bit out, becoming as defensive as ever when someone tried to pry into his personal life.

She shot him a look that clearly said 'Really?' and then replied " ok then so your not hiding but why are you spending so much time on your own?" She rephrased her question. Hurting his feelings by implying weakness was not conductive to finding out whats going on.

"Spending time on my own is the only way to preserve my intellect surrounded by the dregs that live here" he sneered. She shot him a withering look nd sighing he said " if you must knonw, i've been thinking"

"and what was it that you needed to think about that required so much alone time?" When this was met with silence she added "was it that letter?"

He flinched but tried to cover it with a glare and said " Do you always make such a habit of prying into other peoples business? oh yes i forgot, you are an insufferable know-it-all"

He had tried to hide it but his reaction confirmed her suspicions "Draco! stop being so rude, i just saw how you reacted at breakfast the other day and i like to think we are headed towards a friendship. I was worried about you! if you don't want my help thats fine! Merlin your infuriating!"

"well if you find me so irksome then leave! nothing is stopping you!" he replied.

Sighing she said "look, your intelligent, you know what can happen when a wizard bottles up their emotions. It puts pressure on your magic"

" Potter may be prone to fits of accidental magic like a juvenile but i am fully in control of my powers thanks"

"it can happen to anyone! your just being difficult!" she retorted, exasperated.

Draco didn't know what to do, he was locked in a fierce internal battle. He wasn't one for sharing his emotions but he really needed to talk to someone about his mother.

Hermione was right. Keeping strong emotions locked up could cause magic build up but he didn't even know where to begin explaining.

And how could he have such a personal conversation with someone he had bullied for years. She could use the information to taunt him-no. He knew little about this girl but he did know that she would never do something like that.

He supposed it would feel nice to have someone else's opinion on the matter but the only person he had ever shared secrets with was Pansy. She had been the first to know that he was gay, the first to know that he had no plans to join The-Dark-Lord.

A hand on his shoulder and a whispered "Draco" broke him from his reverie. Reachinf into his pocket he pulled out the now very creased parchment and handed it to her.

He stared, unwaveringly at the door until she said "oh draco" and he found himself pulled into an embrace. "what are you going to do?" she asked.

" What do you mean?" came his muffled reply from somewhere in her hair.

"well you can't possibly meet her, its not safe" at this he abruptly pulled back.

"i have to meet her, she's my mother, i need answers " his voice came out small and broken and he hated it.

She looked at him sadly "what if its a trap, what if they just want you back in the basement?"

His eyes hardened " my mother would never lie to me. She loves me".

She fixed him with a look of pure pity that made rage begin to prickle behind his eyes and said " but what possible reason could she have for locking you away Draco? if thats her showing love i have to question her sanity"

At this Draco jumped to his feet and shouted " dont speak about my mother like that! she is perfectly sane. She would never do anything without reason and she loves me. i know it".

The bushy haired girl stood aswell and said "ok, ok she loves you and shes sane but you can understand my concern surely?"

His nostrils flaired in annoyance "yes, but i can look after myself"

"ok then calm down, i'm just concerned about you, you've ben up here for 3 days except meals" he visibly crumpled at the very real concern in her tone.

"i'm just so confused" he whispered. Hermione felt his pain. She approached him slowly and wrapped her arms around him. When he didn't pull away she said "it's ok, you can talk to me".

"i just need answers" he spoke into her shoulder. " I need to know what problem tey had where they felt that the only solution was to lock me away"

Seeing the hope in his eyes she said " well if answers are really what you need then i suppose you have to meet her. it just means i will spend a lot of time trying to come up with ways to keep you safe".

" i just miss them so much. Everyone thinks they are really cold and unloving but they aren't. I couldn't have asked for better parents and although Father has done this i can't hate him. I just need to see them" he said in a small voice.

Hermione felt tears stinging her eyes. She couldn't imagine how he must be feeling, all she could do was comfort him.

Feeling safe in the arms of a friend Draco allowed the tears to come. Even Pansy hadn't seen him cry but he didn't he would be able to stop the tears if he tried.

He was overwhelmed. All the emotions about his parents and then how kind Hermione was being to him was too much. He knew he didn't deserve anything but a hex from her yet here she was, comforting him. Yes, Draco had definitely found a friend.

Outside the door Harry was shocked. He had been on his way to the toilet when he had seen Hermione closing Draco's door. Curiosity got the better of him and he had heard the whole conversation.

What shocked him was how deeply the blondes sorrow had affected him. He could feel the others ain like an ache.

The time had come, he would have to talk to Malfoy.

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**I hope you enjoyed. Please Review...**

**xx**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** I'm so sorry for the wait but the laptop problems are over and the next chapter should be up very soon!

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It took Harry another two days to actually work up the nerve to talk approach Malfoy. The blonde was still spending most of his time in his room. The only difference was that now Hermione and Ginny were in there with him. He'd spent hours thinking about this conversation. What to say, how to approach Malfoy and still nerves bubbled in his stomach like lava.

What was he even hoping to achieve from talking to him? Understanding?. Harry was sure that what he wanted most of all was to be able to stop thinking about him; to actually have space in his head for something other than his school rival.

Ron and Hermione had said that he was obsessed with Malfoy and he had always disagreed with them but if he wasn't obsessed then why was there nothing else in his head?

No, they were wrong, this wasn't obsession just and need for closure.

Summoning all of his supposed Gryffindor courage he stood and in no time found himself outside the other boys room. Holding his breath he knocked the door and listened as the voices inside stopped and someone approached the door.

Malfoy pulled open the door smiling but as soon as he saw who it was his smile disappeared, his eyes became harder and his face tightened. This was all to be expected Harry reminded himself.

"Potter, what do you want?" Came that cold voice. Convincing his voice to work Harry said "well actually I just wanted to talk" the last two words came out as a rushed mumble and the blonde sneered.

"What was that? You'll have to try again in English, I don't speak idiot."

"Draco be nice" came Hermione's warning.

Gritting his teeth Harry said "I said I just wanted to talk" as he said this he found that he couldn't look at the other boy so he fixed his eyed on a point in the room. He could see Hermione smiling at his words.

"Talk? No actually I don't think so. I can't imagine we have anything to talk about" was Draco's reply. He was seething. After everything,after Potter had been Draco to a pulp the other week and now he just expected to talk?

"Well I can think of loads we need to try and sort out" Potter replied in a voice so small Draco had to strain to hear it.

What was this? Was he trying to get sympathy? Did he finally feel bad and had come here to soothe his guilt? Well too bad because Draco didn't feel like helping.

"And as I said-" Draco began but was interrupted by and hand on his shoulder and Hermione's voice.  
"Come on Draco , just listen to what he has to say?"

Oh so they were going to gang up on him were they?

"No Hermione, I refuse-"

"Draco Lucius Malfoy you will listen to what he has to say and you will do it right now!"

Shocked into silence Draco watched as she said "Ginny and I will be back later" and walking past him the left him with Potter.

Harry stood in silence waiting for Malfoy to invite him in but when it was clear that he wouldn't he said "well?"

Scowling, Draco stepped aside and gestured for Potter to enter,which he did and the stood wringing his hands awkwardly.

He didn't feel at all like helping so he shut the door and proceeded to stare at the other boy scowling as deeply as possible.

If Harry thought standing at the door was awkward this was ten times more so. He was staring at his feet, twisting his hands and he could feel Malfoy's glare burning holes in his head.

Finally he cleared his throat and said "right well like I said I erm came here to talk"

Still furious Draco replied " and what exactly do you hope to achieve by talking? A truce because that sure as hell isn't going to happen"

"I don't know okay" Harry replied and the sighing he added " I guess first I wanted to apologise for the other week. I shouldn't have been so violent but surely you can understand why? I didn't know it wasn't you in 6th year and-"

"And whatever possessed you to think that I would accept your apology?" Draco demanded.

"Oh, I don't know, the fact that you have no one now and I should think you would take any friends you can" Harry replied getting angry.

"Oh so its pity?" Draco shouted, furious beyond all measure. " I don't need your pity, I'm perfectly fine-"

"No your not" Harry interrupted. " You pretend that your fine but I heard you the other day crying to 'mione" Harry slammed his mouth shut. This wasn't at all how he planned this to go.

They weren't supposed to be arguing and Malfoy certainly wasn't supposed to be reaching for his wand.  
"What?" Draco said, voice low and dangerous. "How exactly did you hear that?"

He hadn't meant to say it but Malfoy always had a way of getting under his skin. " I erm was outside the door" Harry replied in a small voice, convinced he was about to get hexed.

In seconds a wand was at his throat and Malfoy was screaming "so you lurked about, listening to private conversations and then had the nerve to come here out of pity? I always knew there were a multitude of reason why I hate you"

Crashing could be heard on the stairs and the door burst open to reveal Hermione with her want drawn. She surveyed the scene in front of her in shock.

Harry hadn't even made a move to get his wand out. He just looked like he would throw up.

"Get the fuck out now!" Draco spat and then jabbed his wand in Harry's jugular for good measure.

"I'm sorry" Harry squeaked but Draco's eyes were dancing with anger "now!" He shouted and Harry practically ran from the room.

When he reached his bed he collapsed on it. That wasn't at all how it was supposed to go.  
After the talk he was supposed to be feeling better, not worse. He felt disgusted with himself. He had intruded on someone's privacy.

No matter who it was everyone deserved privacy. He could only imagine how he would feel If Malfoy had overheard him crying about his parents

On top of that Malfoy had reminded him of his reaction that day he had appeared at Privet Drive.  
He had come to him as his last hope. He had no one and what had Harry done? Beaten him up and lost control of his magic. He could feel guilt rolling in waves in his gut. He wasn't fit to be and kind of saviour let alone the saviour of the whole wizarding world.

What would Dumbledore think if he saw Harry now? Would he be just as disgusted as Harry himself was?  
Yes he would, he felt sure of it. Dumbledore had been willing to offer the wizard he thought was Malfoy another chance, even though he had tried to kill him.

That was the behaviour of a true leader. Not Harry. What if with out Dumbledore this was how Harry always was now? Cruel? Trying to silence his noisy mind Harry closed his eyed and attempted to sleep.

* * *

To be continued...

Please review. xx


	10. Chapter 10

"Harry, just come down for dinner? Molly is beside herself with worry. We all are" Arthur had been sat on a chair next to Harry's bed trying to get him to talk for the past half an hour.

"You know you can always talk to me. Why don't you tell me what's wrong and I'll bet we can solve it."

Harry snorted in humorless laughter "this cant be sorted"

Sighing Arthur said "well even if that's the case it is still better to talk about it. A Problem shared is a problem halved"

The offer sounded tempting. Harry hadn't left his room for the past 3 days; not even for meals. The only voice he had heard other than his own was Mrs Weasley's when she bought him meals.

I would be nice to escape the endless, depressing repetition of his own thoughts. But Mr Weasley would be just as disgusted by Harry's behavior as he was himself and then what would happen? at least he would leave Harry in peace.

"What would you have done? if you were me and Malfoy turned up at your house?"

Mr Weasley gave a small understanding smile "is that what this is about? you feel guilty about how you treated Draco when he showed up at Privet Drive? Harry any of us would have done the same. Yes now you feel guilty but back then you still believed him to be responsible for poisoning Ron, curding that Bell girl and letting Death Eaters into Hogwarts. Your grief for Dumbledore was and still is very raw. No one blames you for how you reacted. The easiest way to solve this is to just apologise."

Harry covered his eyes with his hand. Even if Mr Weasley was right about his reaction being normal, he was wrong about the solution.

"i already tried to apologise. It just made it worse"

Arthur leaned forwards, supporting his head by placing his elbows on his knees and leaning on his hands. "how can apologising have made it worse? what exactly did you say?"

Harry sighed and decided to just come out with it. The man would never hate him, right?

"I started trying to apologise and he started going on about how he was fine and didn't need my pity and it just slipped out that i heard him crying to Hermione the other day. I feel so terrible. I didn't mean to listen. I was just curious about what 'mione was going into his room for and then i couldn't stop listening."

This was met by silence and Harry pulled his hand away from his eyes to see the mans reaction- He was frowning.

"Harry, what you have to understand is Malfoys are very proud. I he thought your apology held even the slightest bit of pity his defenses would have been up. On top of that you can't imagine how embarrassing it must have been for him to cry to Hermione in the first place. To know that somebody else heard him would humiliate him all the more. You need to apologise again but this time you have more to apologise for."

Suddenly annoyed, Harry sat up "it's not my fault he has all these stupid rules and behavior codes! How am i supposed to apologise to someone like that?"

"You have to make him believe that you mean it. It's not pity or anything like that you have to be saying sorry because you are sorry for your actions. People like the Malfoys hate being weak. By saying that you heard him crying, you reminded him of his weakness."

Harry flopped back down on his bed with a huff "I am truly sorry for my actions but whenever I'm in the same room as him i can't stay calm. He just has this way of getting under my skin."

Nodding in understanding Arthur got to his feet "come on- come and have some dinner. You don't have to apologise today, you still need more time to think about what your going to say"

Talking to Mr Weasley had definitely made Harry feel better. Suddenly he wanted nothing more than to see Ron and Hermione. They handn't seen each other much and he missed them incredibly.

Rubbing a hand over his face Harry got to his feet and Mr Weasley grinned his success at getting the teen to leave his room.

When he reached the kitchen he was greeted by grins from Ron and Mrs Weasley but Hermione, Ginny and Malfoy continued their conversation without acknowledging his presence.

"Harry dear I'm so glad you've come to join us. Sit down dinner will be served in a second."

Harry took a seat next to Ron who immediately turned to him and said "Thank Merlin your here. These three are driving me mad."

Forcing a smile Harry replied " 'mione still not talking to you?"

"no and neither's Ginny. With you refusing to leave your room i thought i was going to go mental. It's all the ferrets fault" Replied Ron scowling.

"have you ever thought that if you just apologise to him , they will talk to you?"

Ron's eyebrows shot into his hairline "are you mental? what have i got to apologise to him for? don't tell me your a ferret sympathiser aswell!" he demanded.

"I've tried to apologise to him" at this the red head looked furious "well think about it. How would you feel if you were him? i did beat him up for no reason"

"yeah but you didn't know that at the time did you so its fine. Any way after everything he's done, he deserves a good beating"

Burying his face in his hands Harry said " Ron we were just as bad"

The scowling teen was stopped from answering as at that moment dinner was served and he immediately began to tuck in.

Rolling his eyes at his friends table manners Harry said "Ginny, could you please pass the salt?"

She ignored him and carried on eating her dinner so Harry said, louder, "Ginny?"

She still showed no sign that she had heard him but Hermione reached across and passed it to him.

"thanks" Harry said feeling confused. His confusion was only increased when she scowled at his thanks and turned back to her dinner.

"have i done something wrong?" he asked. This was met by silence until Mr Weasley coughed and finally prompted Hermione to speech.

"this isn't the time or the place for this conversation Harry"

Harry slammed his fork down "what conversation? what have i done?"

She fixed him with a disapproving glare and said "please stop acting so childishly and just eat your dinner. We'll talk later"

Harry was furious. What could he possibly have done to annoy both Hermione and Ginny? was it about Malfoy? it had to be!

This increased his fury, Hermione was choosing to fall out with Harry-one of her best friends-over Malfoy- someone who, until recently, made it his life's mission to make their lives hell.

Jumping to his feet Harry stormed out of the kitchen, Leaving his room had been a huge mistake.

"Well done!" Ron shouted after the sound of the raven haired boys footsteps had disappeared. "dad spends and hour talking him out of his room and you just send him back up there! how could you?"

nostrils flaring Hermione said "it's not my fault he's acting like a child".

"He's acting like a child? who's the one ignoring people?"

The bush haired girl huffed and said "If he wasn't being so foul to Draco-"

"i can't believe you are sticking up for him over Harry!"

Glaring she retorted "You don't understand"

"no your right i don't understand how you could side with someone who has bullied you for years over your best friend." His face now so red it blended almost seamlessly with his hair.

"Children that's enough! we can all talk about this later. The dinner table is not the place" cut in Mr Weasley and, glaring at his potatoes like they had done him a great personal wrong, Ron resumed his eating.


	11. Chapter 11

Frowning Harry made his way into the living room. He didn't want to leave his room but the twins had come to visit and they wanted to see him there.

If anyone could cheer him up it would be the twins.

When he reached the room his frown deepened, Malfoy was sat on the sofa staring into the fire.

Suddenly Harry was pushed further into the room and the door was slammed closed. He grabbed the handle and pulled but it wasn't shifting so he pulled out his wand and began firing unlocking spells.

Malfoy pushed him out of the way muttering about incompetence and began to try unlocking spells himself and still the door wouldn't budge.

"you can try all you want" Came a voice from the other side of the door.

"but neither of you will be able to open it" said a second, similar voice.

"let us out guys. Come on this isn't funny" Harry shouted banging a fist against the door.

"I'm afraid we can't do that little Harry"

"you see the locking spell is timed"

"your in here"

"all night"

Fred bit his lip to hold in his laughter as something, presumably a fist, hit the door.

When they had arrived for their visit earlier that day the tension in the house had been obvious and after speaking to everyone they had decided that the root of the problem seemed to lie with Harry and Malfoy.

Within minutes they had formulated a plan to force them to talk, some one had to sort it!

After informing their dad of the plan he had agreed to lure Malfoy to the living room under the pretense of a chat with him and so there it was; a simple yet useful plan!.

"We're going home now" said George.

"but we'll be back in the tomorrow. Have fun" added Fred.

"Let us out or i swear to Merlin-"

"What was that Harry?" interrupted George.

"sorry, we can't hear you" grinned Fred.

Laughing at the younger boys grunt of frustration they headed for the kitchen to say their goodbyes.

Back in the living room Draco stalked to the fire and began pacing, furiously infront of it. He was read to kill. Because of those idiotic twins he was stuck in here with Potter all night. Potter and his pity. If he tried to apologise again Draco thought he might just hex him into tin pieces.

Leaning against the door Harry closed his eyes. Yes he had been looking for a way to get Malfoy to let him apologise but not now! he wasn't ready!. He still had no idea what to say and Malfoy was almost certainly already in a bad mood because of being locked in here. Not a good start! Sighing in exasperation Harry slid to the floor and buried his face in his knees.

Two hours later Draco was sat on the sofa with his head back and his eyes closed. This night was going exceptionally slow, at least Potter hadn't tried to talk to him. Thank Merlin for small mercies.

Harry was still curled up near the door. He had spent the whole two hours trying to think of ways to apologise to Malfoy and still he had nothing.

Finally he decided to just go for it. "Malfoy" he said, raising his head to look at the other boy. The only reaction he received was the appearance of a crease in the blondes forehead. "look Malfoy I really am-"

Suddenly the blondes head shot up and he opened his eyes to glare at Harry " don't you dare apologise again Potter or i will hex you into oblivion".

"we are stuck in here all night and we might aswell actually talk. We will have to eventually" Harry replied, his tone weary.

"and why would we have to do that? i see no reason why i can't just ignore you for the rest of my life" retorted the other boy.

Balling his hands into fists to control his rising anger Harry said "we are on the same side now! we can't fight amongst ourselves it will just cause problems".

At this Malfoy didn't answer, he just looked away and stared into the fire.

"I really am sorry you know. Its not just pity or anything like that. I know i shouldn't have beat you when you came to me for help. I'm not going to apologise for everything before that because we were both just as bad as each other."

Still the other was silent and so Harry pressed on " and I'm sorry for listening to you with Hermione the other day" at the mention of this Malfoy flinched.

"I just do stupid things sometimes. You hadn't been out of your room for days and when i saw 'Mione going in there i was curious. I should have left when i heard what you were talking about an i have no excuse for not leaving but i really am sorry".

Draco turned to look at Potter. He was really apologising, really and Draco couldn't see a hint of pity in his eyes. Maybe they could at least try and be civil. He didn't think they could ever be friends but he was tired of fighting.

Harry just stared at Malfoy for a long time, he was staring right back, fixing him with a calculating stare and Harry hoped to Merlin he was going to accept the apology.

If he didn't forgive him this time he had no idea what he would do. He needed Malfoy to forgive him so he could just stop thinking about him. It was driving him crazy.

Finally after what felt like an eternity Draco said " and what is it that you expect now?".

This caught Harry off guard, what exactly did he expect? he had spent so much time thinking about how to apologise that he hadn't thought about afterwards.

"i don't know. I don't expect us to become best friends but i at least want a truce."

Arching an eyebrow Draco said "a truce?"

" yeah you know a truce? where we don't fight anymore" Harry couldn't help biting back in a sarcastic tone.

"I know what a truce is" snapped the blonde.

"Calm down! it was just a joke" replied Harry raising his hands in a placating gesture.

Turning back to the fire Draco thought: could he do it? not fight with Potter anymore? actually put effort into being civil? It would definitely be harder than it seemed but he needed all the allies he could get for when he returned to school.

He didn't imagine he would be very popular amongst his fellow snakes once word got out that he hadn't actually join the Dark Lord.

He would still have Pansy, this he knew but being friends with Harry Potter would provide a certain amount of protection and after all what was being a Slytherin all about if not self-preservation.

Turning back to face the shorter boy he said " fine. We will attempt a truce but you are still on very thin ice."

Shoulders sagging in relief Harry said "really? your really willing to try and stop fighting?"

"Don't push it Potter. Now please be quiet, I'm going to attempt to sleep so i have enough energy to kill those annoying twins tomorrow".

Chuckling Harry said "Shouldn't we shake hands?" he was on his feet infront of the blonde with his hand outstretched in seconds.

"Rolling his eyes Draco took the hand and shook it once. " now please, i need to sleep" he Said stretching out on one end of the sofa and laying his head back with his eyes closed again.

Feeling a lot happier Harry stretched out at the other end of the sofa and closed his own eyes.

He really would have to remember to thank the twins in the morning.

**Your reviews are my sustenance so please review :) **

**x x**


	12. Chapter 12

The next morning was a weird one. Fred and George had returned just before the locking charm expired and demanded to know if the two teens had made amends. At the boys assurance that they had, in fact, stopped fighting they were happy to let them out.

What they hadn't expected, however, was to be accosted by two fuming boys who were now working as a team to hex the scheming twins into apology.

Harry had George under a wonderful levicorpus and Draco had hit Fred with an amusing little jinx that meant that whenever he opened his mouth to talk, a series of bubbles would burst forth.

Biting his lip to stop laughter from escaping Draco pondered how much his life had changed over his weeks here.  
Before, just the sight of the matching Weasley's made him want to hex someone- preferably painfully- but now that he found that he actually quite liked them and after all their prank had been harmless in the end. That did not mean that they didn't need to be taught a lesson though and so he had selected a painless but amusing jinx from his rather extensive mental collection.

Not attempting to hold in his laughter Harry doubled over with the force of his amusement. When he finally calmed slightly he said "So are you two sorry yet?"

When Fred tried to answer and his head was engulfed in technicolor bubbles Harry's laughter returned full force and this time Draco joined him.

The joyful sounds of their laughter attracted the attention of Hermione who appeared to see what was going on. Nothing could have prepared her for the sight that met her.

Harry and Draco were laughing! together!. They had both been so miserable for their whole stay that the sound of their laughter was a rare one and to hear them sharing a joke was more than she had ever hoped for.  
Of course the cause of their laughter was rather funny.

After all its not everyday one finds the Weasley twins in such a position- One hanging upside down, all the blood rushing to his head causing his face to blend with his hair- and the other smiling, surrounded by hundreds of bubbles of various sizes and colours Allowing herself to smile, but not laugh (for she felt that someone had to be sensible here) she said " what on earth is going on here?"

Draco was the first to subdue his laughter and said "Potter and I were just teaching these two a lesson"

Grinning, Hermione said "It's so good to see you two working together! What in Merlin's name caused it?"

Draco's smile dropped totally and Harry stopped laughing. "well these two locked us up and we reached a truce but don't expect such collaborations as this to become a regular occurrence" Replied the blonde.

"It's not like we're suddenly best friends" said Harry, too forcefully in Hermione's opinion. She scowled and he added "but we're working on a friendship".

Harry was ashamed to say he felt hurt. He had thought that he and Malfoy were having fun but obviously he saw it differently.

His musings were interrupted by the strained voice of George who had been upside down for far too long. "Are you going to let me down or what?" he asked, his amusement clear despite his current situation.

"depends on how sorry you are" teased the black-haired boy.

Putting on an over-exaggerated pout George said "of course we're really sorry. We were only trying to help" in a fake innocent tone.

Laughing Harry muttered the counter curse and the red-head fell to the floor with a bump. "and by the looks of it we did help." he grinned whilst rubbing his hip.

Suddenly another set of bubbles appeared and Draco grinned maliciously " oh no Fred, i don't think i feel like reversing the jinx yet."

At Georges delighted laughter the blonde said " oh, don't think your getting off that lightly" and he shot a jinx at George, the effect of which wasn't apparent until he tried to talk.

At first it seemed like he was talking gibberish but it soon became clear that he was actually talking backwards.  
Still grinning like a wolf Draco said " now, come and find me later and see how generous I'm feeling." and with that he walked off, presumably to get breakfast.

Hermione turned to Harry "so?"

"to be honest 'mione i don't know. We agreed to a truce but i don't know what that means. How are we supposed to act with each other now?" he answered sounding weary.

She felt bad for him, he was obviously trying "I'm sorry about my behaviour recently Harry" She said looking nervous " it's just, when i found out that you eavesdropped on Draco i was furious. I felt so bad for him and he's actually nice when you get to know him".

Sighing Harry said "It's ok, everyone has been acting stupid. I'm trying though, i really am" He said and she could see that he was imploring her to understand.

She pulled him into a hug and said "I know you are and I'm really happy about that. Come on, lets go get some breakfast and see if we can act a bit more mature today.".

He pulled back and she offered a small smile "I've missed you so much" he said and then grinning he took her hand and pulled her into the kitchen.

Breakfast had been the most enjoyable meal Harry had had in weeks. Hermione and Ginny were actually talking to him again, Malfoy didn't glare at him every other bite and the twins provided endless amusement with the effects of Draco's jinxes.

Fred and George were right. It seemed that all of the fighting at The Burrow had stemmed from Harry and Malfoy. This made Harry feel bad but he reminded himself that it was sorted now.

For the first time since arriving Harry was able to fully enjoy being away from the Dursleys. With all of his moping he hadn't really thought about how lucky he was to get away from that hell hole early.

And of course the new term at Hogwarts started in 2 weeks which he was ecstatic about. He missed the old castle so much. When he was there he felt free, he had his friends when he needed them but there was also plenty of chance to escape for alone time if he wasn't in a people mood.

The problem started after breakfast when Ron suggested that now Harry and Ginny were talking again they should help him practice his keeping.

Harry thought this was a wonderful idea, Quidditch was another major thing he had missed about school. He was just about to agree and jump out of his seat when he looked at Malfoy.

He was good at Quidditch right? and weren't they supposed to be making an effort with each other? He felt bad at the thought of leaving him out. If he liked flying anywhere near as much as Harry he must miss it terribly.  
Grimacing he said "Hey, Malfoy, how about you join us and we play two-a-side?"

Ginny and Hermione grinned and the former said "brilliant idea! pelting Ron with the quaffle is always fun for a while but I fancy a game."

Malfoy was looking at Harry, eyes wide with shock and he was just about to answer when Ron said " are you mental? why would i want to do anything with that git?"

Draco immediately rounded on Ron and said " don't worry Weasel king. I wasn't going to join you. I felt like being nice and letting you practice. After all you need it."

"shut your face ferret" Ron demanded.

"wow witty!" said Draco "I'm sorry, is it a sore point that a blind hippogriff would make a better keeper than you?"  
Sighing Harry said " why can't Malfoy just join us? what is wrong with that?"

Ron looked murderous "you're sticking up for him?"

"I'm not sticking up for anyone but you did start it. All I did was ask him to play Quidditch, he didn't say anything."  
"ever since that fucking ferret arrived I have hardly seen you, or her" he shouted, pointing at Hermione.

"I do have a name" she scolded.

"well its a wonder I haven't forgotten it with how little I've seen you! I'm not good enough anymore then?" the angry red-head raged.

Rubbing his temples Harry said "Ron will you stop being such a twat?"

"See, sticking up for that git!" Ron snapped and said "I wasn't aware you were so needy. I should have seen it, you have always been attention hungry"

Suddenly Harry felt a fist connect with his face, his nose break and then Ron smashed everything in his was on his course out of the room.

'really?' thought Harry and then he was bombarded with demands to know if he was alright and hands grabbing at his head to better check the extent of his injury.

* * *

**To be continued...**

**Please review it, reviews are what motivate me to write more. :) xx**


	13. Chapter 13

The next week saw Draco doing something that he had never, in all of his 17 years, imagined he would be doing- spending time with Harry Potter.

It's true that they had mutually agreed to stop fighting but he hadn't really expected anything to come of it. Any fool was smart enough to know that if they didn't at least pretend to make up they would not be let out of that room- and Draco was certainly no fool.

When Potter had invited him to join their Quidditch match the next day it had been the shock of his life. Life here was full of surprises and Draco hated surprises!. At least he could count on one thing, the weasel would always be perfectly predictable. Draco could have predicted his reaction to the boy-wonders suggestion a mile off and as such the red-heads outburst had left him feeling amused.

What was even more amusing though was the chaos that ensued after the angry teen had attacked everyone s favourite saviour. Potter had accused the weasel of attention-seeking (which, in Draco s opinion, was already obvious) and then to the blondes delight weasel king had broken the black-haired boys nose. Sadly Weasley had left before anyone could curse him because they were all too busy rushing to Potters aid.

It wasn't personal against Potter that seeing him get his nose broken was the most fun Draco had had in weeks. He just liked chaos.

After that Potter had been seen to and mended by the Weasley matriarch and then promptly stored off to his room to brood (again).

That seemed to be a special talent of his. A useless talent- personally Draco had never seen the point in brooding. It was better to simply begin planning your revenge immediately. Then again Potter was a Gryffindor so what did he expect?.

So instead of playing Quidditch off he had gone with Hermione and Ginny to catch-up on his work for McGonagall. He enjoyed studying and even studying with McGonagall hadn't been as bad as he expected but playing Quidditch sounded a lot more enticing than spending yet more time in his room with Hermione and Ginny surrounded by books.

As it turned out they had gotten to play the next day and Potter had apparently decided that one day had been sufficient time to mope over his hopeless friendship.

And so had passed seven days of Quidditch games, studying and spending time with the girls and Potter(surprisingly there had only been a few awkward moments).

The only time anyone had seen the third member of the golden trio had been at meals. The perpetually angry teen would use this time to shoot dark looks at anything that moved and scowl heavily whilst mutilating his meal.  
Now the young Malfoy was basking in the shade of a large tree with his three unlikely companions. They had come out here to study and play Quidditch but what that actually meant was that Hermione had been the only one studying.

The heat had crawled under Draco's skin and he was sure he couldn't concentrate on books even if he tried. He, Ginny and Potter had taken it in turn to play keeper and now they were stretched across the grass practically asleep. No one had spoken in a while but the silence was a comfortable one.

Draco's ears picked up the rustling of grass and it wasn't until the rustling grew closer that he realised it was footsteps. Cracking one eye open (and shielding it with his hand to stop himself being blinded by the sun) he saw Mrs Weasley, smiling warmly at the sight before her.

"you all look like you've had a busy day," she commented and when she only receive hums in reply from the over- heated teens she continued "Lunch is ready. It's not much, just some sandwiched but I figured you wouldn't want anything heavier."

Still she received only hums in agreement and smiling in amusement she said I will see you all inside in five minutes Oh and Draco dear, this came for you. She extended her had towards him and when he opened his eyes he saw that she was holding an envelope.

Propping himself up on one elbow he took the parchment and thanked the woman but after that his relaxed state rapidly disappeared, for scrawled across the parchment was his name in that handwriting again and even though he had been expecting a second letter his mouth went dry.  
Getting to his feet he ignored the calls of his name on his quest to get straight to his room and discover the contents of this letter.

Was it about the meeting she had spoken of in her last letter? Did he want it to be about the meeting? Yes he wanted to see her but his most over whelming emotion was was rare that he ever felt nervous and it unsettled him. He was used to being so confident and sure. He wasn't used to dealing with nerves. Sitting on his bed he fired a locking charm at the door absentmindedly whilst already opening the envelope with his other hand. Pulling out the parchment he began to read:

_My Dragon I apologise for the amount of time between my last letter and now but you know the situation at home. You are the only thing that has been in my mind and my need to see you only increases every day._  
_If you have decided that you will give me a chance (that I admit I don t deserve) I finally have a time and a place sufficient for the meeting. I have enclosed a portkey and should you wish to take it it will activate at 8am tomorrow. I will be waiting at the other end and you can rest assured I will make sure you can get back to your current place of residence._

_I hope you can find it within you to at least come and listen to my explanations before you cast us from your heart and mind. All my love,_

_ Mother _

Tipping up the envelope a tiny statue of a dragon fell into his palm and suddenly he felt strangled by panic. A portkey? He was expected to take a portkey which would take him to Salazar know where? Anyone could be at the other end, it could even be The-Dark-Lord himself!. He shivered, imagining the creepy mans reaction to the fact that the son of his right hand man had been staying with his worst enemy.

He had to meet his mother though and she would never lie to him, hadn't he said that to Hermione just the other day?

He jumped as loud bangs issued from his door and a concerned female voice said "Draco? Please let us in." when he didn't reply she said "the other day you were going on and on about how useless brooding is and now you are doing it yourself. Don t you dare lock yourself in here."

Scowling about having his own words used against him (an admittedly Slytherin thing for Hermione to do) he put the letter and the statue back in the envelope, put it to one side and cancelled the locking charm on his door. Suddenly the room was filled with brown, red and black and they all began talking at once. The young Malfoy simply waited, with one eyebrow arched until they got the message and stopped rambling.

"Are you ok Draco? We were fine and suddenly you just stormed off," Said Ginny moving closer to him and rubbing her hand up and down his arm.

Draco pulled away rolling his eyes about her lack of observation. Could she really not put two and two together and realise that the point he had stormed off (which is something Malfoy's don t do by the way) was when he was handed that letter.

He liked the only girl Weasley but she always made him uncomfortable. She would touch him all the time and laugh at his jokes more than necessary. It was obvious she had more than friendship in mind- yet another poor deluded girl.

"I'm fine, come on lets go to lunch. You mother will be-" He was cut off by Potter slamming the door shut and standing in front of it whilst Hermione gave him a stern glare and said 'don t bother trying avoid us. We are not leaving this room until you tell us what's up. You know we will get you to tell us eventually so why don't you get it over with and tell us now." She crossed her arms over her chest and her eyes didn't move from his face as she waited for an answer.

Potter was at the door positioned like a guard I won't be getting out that way then thought Draco in annoyance. Ginny was, again, moving towards him with her hand outstretched so he turned and walked over to look out of the window.

"It's about that letter isn't it?" asked the brunette softly and the blonde found himself nodding.

"do you want us to leave and you can talk with Mione?" asked Potter causing Draco to turn around in shock.

"if you wouldn't mind" He replied and smiling in understanding he grabbed an outraged looking Ginny by the upper arm and said we ll be downstairs getting lunch. And then pulled her from the room shutting the door behind him.  
Sitting down on his bed Draco prepared himself for another long and uncomfortable, soul baring conversation with Hermione.

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To be continued...

Please review, they are what inspire me to keep writing. :) xx


	14. Chapter 14

"Malfoy. Draco, its going to be fine. You said so yourself , many times, that your mother would never lie to you and if anything does go wrong I'll be there" reassured Harry for what felt like the hundredth time that morning. It was 7:55 and Draco had been pacing for the past hour.

When the blonde snorted Harry sighed and said " I know you don't want me there but I agree with 'mione. If you insist on going" he held up his hand to silence the argument the other boy was about to make and then continued "I understand why you want to go, I would too but there is a strong possibility that its a trap and I am your best safety measure".

Merlin, how many more times was Potter going to give this little speech? Draco wasn't thick, he understood but that didn't mean he had to like it.

Yesterdays talk with Hermione had resulted in her telling him that he needed some sort of protection (which he already knew) and that his best bet was the speccy git and his invisibility wrapper.

At first he flat out refused but after what felt like hours of the girls pleading arguments in her best concerned tones he had conceded that Potter probably was his best choice.

They had then gone and found Potter to ask if he would agree to accompany Draco to the meeting (well Hermione asked whilst Draco most certainly did not sulk- Malfoy's don't do that) and of course being the Gryffindor idiot that he is he agreed without a second thought.

It wasn't that he minded the boys company it was just that he felt that the first time he saw his mother in a year should be a private affair.

And so here they were, in Draco's room at 7:56 and he couldn't be more nervous. What made it worse was the fact that there was someone here to witness his loss of control and that made him angry so he took out his anger on said person.

" You've always been so full of yourself Potter" he spat looking in the direction of the last place he had seen the boy ( at 7:50 he had put his cloak on to be 'ready').

"What are you on about now?" Came a weary sounding, dis embodied voice.

"No one would believe me when I said how big headed you are and now here you are going on and on about how you are the greatest form of protection" he replied trying to keep his voice down because of the early hour but failing when anger and nerves took control of his vocal chords.

"Look at your options! What are they? At the moment I am your only chance at taking extra safety. That's not big-headedness that's realism" replied Harry becoming angry himself now. He knew that Malfoy was only being like this because of his nerves but he couldn't help it. The blonde always did get under his skin.

Draco opened his mouth to argue again but Harry said "stop your whining, look at the time! Grab the portkey."  
Muttering under his breath about not having to take orders from idiot Gryffindor's he produced the dragon statue from his pocket and held it out for Potter to touch as well.

He felt something bump into his side and knew that they were ready to go. In a minute they would either be with his mother or In some sort of trap.

His nerves rose up like bile, burning his throat and he felt like he would be sick. He couldn't stop the tremble of his hands and he could feel stinging behind his eyes. He was humiliated that anyone had seen him like this, let alone his former rival.

Suddenly he felt the tug behind his navel and was sure that he would actually vomit. His stomach had already been churning and rolling, travelling by portkey almost pushed him too far.

When they arrived Harry surveyed the room. It had a table and chairs in what looked like a kitchen/dining space and a main room that held a window and a comfortable looking sofa. This was where Mrs Malfoy sat and walking towards her he looked out of the window and discovered that, as expected, he had no idea where they were.  
Draco however didn't notice any of this. He only had eyes for his mother. She was staring and him as though in shock and Draco felt tears begin to slide down his face.

He had known that he might be seeing his mother today but nothing could have prepared him for the sight of her. She looked exactly the same as the last time he had seen her, if a little tired, and just looking at her made him feel calmer.

He felt a reassuring squeeze on his shoulder and remembered that Harry was here. Instead of making him feel angry it made him feel calmer still and he regained his senses.

Apparently his mother had regained her senses too because she began to rush towards him, arms outstretched but he produced his wand, pointed it at her and backed away.

She froze in place, confusion marring her perfect features and Draco said "how did I get the scar on my right knee?" If she was really his mother she would know that.

Her confusion disappeared,replaced by a sad smile and she said "I wish we weren't in such times that my own son has to check that I am really his mother"

"Just answer the question" Draco said and punctuated his point with a jab of his wand.

"You were 4 years old and had just discovered the meaning of your name. Convinced that this meant you were part dragon and so could fly without a broomstick you jumped from a tree on the grounds and rather painfully discovered that you did infact need a broomstick to fly." She now had the faraway look of someone lost in memory.

Feeling relief that she had answered correctly (and a little embarrassment at his childish stupidity) he put away his wand and ran towards her. She gathered him up in her arms and buried her face In his hair.

"I'm sorry but I had to check. You could have been anyone" Draco said, his voice muffled because of his heads position (buried in his mothers shoulder).

"It's ok, I would be disappointed if you hadn't checked. It appears your father and I taught you well" she said, her voice kind but fraught with emotion.

At the mention of his father he stiffened and Narcissa pulled back, leading him to the sofa and said " come, I will explain all and then you have the right to whatever judgement you make".

Allowing himself to be lead he slumped into the seat next to her and she took one of his hands in between her two smaller ones. Looking up to meet her eyes Draco said "explain". Harry who had been crushing the urge to rush out and hug the boy had never heard someone sound more broken than the Draco did with that one word.

The older teen was just acting so... Human and yes Harry had seen a more human side to him recently but never this much. It gave him the almost undeniable urge to comfort the boy.

" Your father really thought that what he was doing was for the best. He was scared, we both were, and you know what his plans are like even when he is in a good state of mind". Narcissa began, everything about her body language imploring her son to listen.

" The Dark Lord had set a date for your initiation and the closer it became to that date the more frantic we became. We would have done anything to help you escape that fate but we couldn't think of a way out."

'So' Draco thought 'my suspicions were correct. My parents no longer want to serve The Dark Lord'.

" Your father eventually came up with a plan but it was so out of line, I immediately refused. We argued about it for months but still I wouldn't allow it". Her voice was now tinged with anger.

"And this plan was?" Prompted Draco, eager to learn all the facts leading to his current predicament.  
" He planned to fake his own death in front of The Dark Lord and invoke the Malfoy magics to disguise himself as you".

The Malfoy magics? They could only be used in times of dire emergency and he knew little about them except that the head of the family could bend them to his will as long as they were being used to protect someone in the family.  
"Of course he would have to hide you and so he planned to lock you in the basement and seal it so that no one would be able to detect your presence. As I said, I disagreed but on the day you arrived back from fifth year I was out and your father was desperate." She had turned side ways to face him better now.

"When you arrived home of course, you were shocked. You hadn't heard of his escape from Azkaban and your father took advantage of that shock to lead you to the refurbished basement. Once you were there he used the family powers to seal it so that you could be let out only if Lucius wanted to let you out. No one would be able to detect you"

"If they were sealed like that the how could house elves get in?" Asked Draco. He wanted to know everything about the family magic. All pureblood lines had their own magic but rarely was it ever used.

"House elf magic is different from wizards and witched. Anyway, after he locked you away he found me, exclaimed that his plan was in motion and left for a raid" she looked so angry just at the memory that Draco felt sorry for his father.

"Later that night he arrived covered in blood and said that The Dark Lord believed him dead. It was then that he put the last part of his plan into action and the family magic disguised him so completely that even The Dark Lord wouldn't be able to detect that is wasn't really you."

Draco's eyes were wide. His father had gone to those lengths to keep him safe! Rarely did Lucius ever show emotion and when he did It was never anywhere near this much. To his embarrassment Draco began to cry again.  
"Well I think you can guess what happened then. He was initiated and became a Death-Eater all over again" Draco flinched. He had heard of the pain of the initiation and hoped to never go through it once let alone twice.  
"He was initiated again for me?" He asked in a small voice.

"Yes and to this day he is still believed to be you". She pulled him closer and wrapped her arms around him and for a few minutes they sat in silence- which suited Draco. He was too shocked to speak.

This silence came to an end though when someone who looked exactly like Draco burst into the room and shouted " Cissa they have found you, they know, we have to leave".

Jumping to her feet she said "what? How?"

"I will explain later we have to-" but he was interrupted by pops of apparation as the room filled with cloaked figures.

Curses were flying everywhere and Harry ran towards where the Malfoy's were arranged back to back in a triangle formation with their wands out, surrounded by Death-Eaters.

Ripping off his cloak at the last moment he grabbed hold of a shocked looking Narcissa shouted "hold onto each other" and without looking to see if they had done so, twisted into nothingness.

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To be continued...

Please review, they mean a lot! :) xx


	15. Chapter 15

Arriving outside of the Burrows anti-apparation wards Harry pushed the three Malfoys through the gate, all the while thanking Merlin that they listened to him and took a hold of each other.

He then ran inside and without bothering to explain anything to any of the people who were shouting questions a him he ran to the fireplace, grabbed a handful of floo powder and calling out "Professor McGonagall office" chucked the powder into the grate.

When her face appeared amongst the glowing green flames he said "Professor, we need you at The Burrow! now! its an emergency".

"Potter what one earth?-" she began but Harry couldn't listen, Narcissa still had a tracking spell on her and the Death-Eaters may not be able to get into The Burrow but how long would that last for?.

"Please! its an EMERGENCY" He interrupted and looking shocked McGonagall nodded and then disappeared. Harry stood quickly and looked around to find the two Draco's and Narcissa surrounded by Weasleys with their wands out.

"They're ok, honestly. They're not dangerous" Harry protested and everyone turned to look at him.

"What's going on? Why is his mother here and who is the other Draco?" Asked Hermione a look of total confusion etched across her face.

"I'll explain now McGonagall is here" He said just as the teacher in question stepped out of the grate and froze in shock at the sight before her.

"yes i think an explanation would be a good idea Potter" She said.

"I'll just give a quick explanation then i can tell you all more later, we really do need to get those three out of here and somewhere safe" Harry said turning to face the headmistress and gesturing towards the three ruffled looking Malfoys.

Gesturing for him to begin talking McGonagall took the nearest seat and waited for him to speak.

"well, today Malfoy and I went to meet his mother" at the outraged cries of the three adults in the room Harry said "I know it was foolish and you can shout me down later but this really isn't the time". Sensing his urgency they all shut up and he continued.

"we met his Mother and she explained everything, I'll tell you more of it later when we have time but basically she had a good reason for why Draco was locked away this past year. She explained how her and her husband no longer wish to serve Voldemort" there was a collective flinch at this and Harry rolled his eyes.

"any way after she finished explaining Mr Malfoy, Who is the other Draco by the way" when he saw every ones confusion he added "again, I'll explain later, burst into the room saying that the death-eaters had a tracking spell on Narcissa and before we could escape there were Death-Eaters everywhere. You know as well as i do that i really don't like Lucius but they need hiding."

"how can we be sure we can trust them?" asked Hermione over everyone elses shouted questions.

Harry turned to look at her and said " After what i saw today I know 100% that we can trust Draco and Narcissa. Lucius I'm not so sure about but I saw the way the Death-Eaters were after him today and if i know anything it's that the most important thing to a Slytherin is self-preservation, we will have to take the risk. They need hiding, the Death-Eaters will be looking for them as we speak and Narcissa still has a tracking spell on her, Merlin only knows how long the Burrows protective enchantments will hold out."

"and where do you propose we hide them?" asked McGonagall, ever the practical witch.

"i haven't really had much time to think, how about Grimmauld place? no one is using it and it does belong to me now. Its still under fidelius and i know that after Dumbledore" here he paused. He felt pathetic, he still couldn't talk about Dumbledores death. He swallowed and said "died, we all became secret keepers so its not as safe but it's still safe for now."

McGonagall's lips were pressed thin as they had ever been and her eyes were narrowed. She appeared to be in deep thought. The Weasleys still surrounded the Malfoys but the only one with his wand still pointed at them was Ron. Mr Weasley was scowling at the two Draco's since he wasn't sure which was Lucius.

"don't you remember what happened last time we trusted someone we shouldn't have just because someone told us to?" demanded Ron and Harry felt as though all of his organs had turned to lead.

He was right of course. They shouldn't have trusted Snape but they did because Dumbledore said so and look what happened there. At that moment he hated Ron, how dare he remind him of the headmasters death like that?

"this is different Ron, I've seen proof that they are ok to trust" Harry said trying to keep his voice even. There was time to fight with Ron later if it had to be done. Now was about making sure the Malfoys were safe.

"yeah but Dumbledore kept saying he had proof that he could trust-" Ron retorted but Mrs Weasley interrupted him and said

"that's enough Ron. We all know what happened with Albus, we don't need to be told again." And Harry felt so grateful. Grateful that perhaps she had seen how painful it was for him to relive the memories and feel like he was making the same mistake.

"Here we go again, sticking up for a bunch of Death-Eater scum over me, your own son" Ron shouted in the direction of his mother and she opened her mouth to chastise him but Mr Weasley got there first.

"Don't speak to your mother like that. This is an adult situation and clearly you can't handle it so get to your room" He said and looking murderous Ron stormed from the room.

"so Professor, can we hide them?" Hermione asked sounding determined and Harry knew that tone of voice. It was the tone of voice that signified the beginning of a long lecture if anyone dared to disagree with her.

"Well if Potter says he has seen proof we can trust them then i suppose i believe him. He is fully aware of the mistakes made regarding Severus and so i should think he would exercise extra caution in situations such as these." she responded whilst standing.

Whooping in triumph Harry said "now, how are we going to get them there? there is probably Death Eaters right outside the wards and we can't floo there as the floo at number 12 is only connected the the fireplace in your office."

Giving him a look that you would give a particularly slow child she said "then we shall floo to my office and go to Grimmauld place from there."

Mentally smacking himself for his own stupidity Harry turned to the three blondes and said "Lucius can you turn back into yourself?"

" Indeed i can but it takes a rather complex bit of magic Mr Potter. I will need time and as such I will change back later when we are at this safe house." came the reply from the Draco on the left.

Nodding the raven-haired boy said "the house is nothing grand. Its an old house of the Blacks that i inherited from Sirius, not a pleasant place to be in at all."

At the displeased looks he got from the three he said "are you not grateful that we are hiding you at all? shall we send you back tot the Death Eaters? if that is what you want then by all means go on, there is probably loads of them outside right now."

At this he thought he saw a little shiver from the Draco on the right and Narcissa glared at the Draco that was really Lucius and said "We are very grateful Mr Potter, you don't have to do this and you shall forever have our gratitude."

"good now that's sorted lets go." Harry said and began to walk towards the fireplace but was stopped by a firm grip on his arm.

"What is the point in hiding them if you aren't going to bother removing the tracking spell?" said Hermione releasing her grip on his arm and rolling her eyes.

"good point Miss Granger, and we should check the others for tracking spells also" Said the headmistress. As she began to walk towards the three with her wand out.

Whilst she was checking them and removing any spells Harry whispered "I Learned a lot of interesting things about the Malfoy family dynamics today. Just wait until i tell you their reason for locking him away."

Narrowing her eyes Hermione said "I only want to hear what was said if Draco tells me. You will not betray his trust like that!".

Harry had the sense to look abashed and nodded. Hermione pulled him into a hug and said " I know you didn't mean it but Malfoys are very private. He's just starting to like you, don't ruin it."

Sighing the dark-haired boy said "I'll try. Its just so hard keeping up a friendship with people like Draco." She pulled back from the hug and Harry saw the amusement playing about her features and couldn't help but smile.

"come on then Mr Potter or is it your wish that we take some Death Eaters with us?" came the stern voice of McGonagall from behind him.

Running his hand through his hair he turned and following the other 4 people who had already gone to the headmistresses office he stepped into the floo, dropped his handful of powder, called out his destination and was whisked away with that familiar sickness inducing feeling.

**reviews are my food, so please review :)**

**xx**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: I'm so sorry for how late this chapter is. I really can't apologise enough. I go to college and we just had the deadline for our assignments and then i fell REALLY REALLY ill and then it was Christmas and i'm not totally recovered but anyway there is no excuse. If you are still reading I LOVE you and i apologise whole heartedly.**

Arriving back at the Burrow that evening Harry felt that he could never talk again and it would be too soon. The remainder of his day had been spent asking and answering questions from both the Malfoys and Professor Mcgonagall and now he knew, just knew that he wouldn't be allowed to rest until he answered the same questions all over again to everyone gathered here.

How exactly he should answer these questions was another matter entirely. He thought back to Hermione's earlier words and sighed. How could he explain to everyone without telling them anything the Malfoys would deem to personal.

His time for decision making was cut drastically short as Mrs Weasley walked into the room, evidently having heard his arrival. "Harry dear your finally back! you've missed dinner but i could make you something if your hungry" she said smiling kindly and he was grateful that the first thing out of her mouth wasn't a question.

The sound of many pairs of footsteps signaled that he had spoken too soon as a flurry of red hair came bursting into the was shouting but the people that weren't shouting were all showing predictable reactions to Harry's current predicament.

Hermione and Mrs Weasley were standing in near identical poses with their arms crossed and disapproving frowns, Mr Weasley looked to be caught in an internal battle between the need to know the answers to the questions and the want to stop Harry from being overwhelmed and the twins were practically glowing with mirth at the helpless expression on Harry's face.

Holding up his hands Harry shouted "ok everyone just stop. STOP". Mouths snapped shut and Harry continued "i told you all i had to tell earlier. I have seen evidence that we can trust the Malfoy's, I have taken them to Grimmauld place and thats it. I wont tell you any more without their permission."

"I think thats a good decision Harry. Its exactly what I'd do" Said Hermione and looking over at her Harry saw she was looking pleased.

"yes, of course thats what you'd do, you love that git just as much as he does" came Ron's angry mutter.

"oh don't start with this again Ronald. When are you going to grow up?" replied Hermione rounding on him and shooting him a death glare.

"When are you going to stop sticking up for people who don't deserve it? who will you be helping next, Bellatrix LeStrange?"

Hermione's mouth dropped open in outrage and she looked ready to kill but before she could reply Mr Weasley cut in "thats quite enough. No more arguing, just let Harry get some dinner and we will all go back to the living room".

"oh yes let Harry get some dinner because what Harry wants Harry gets." cut in Ron, the bitterness dripping from his tone.

Harry could feel that familiar feeling of anger staring in his stomach and bubbling until it slowly consumed him. "something to say Ron?" He asked in a deceptively calm tone.

"yes actually, how come what you say goes? your no better than the rest of us and all of a sudden you seem to be in charge" Ron spat,face a bright tomato red.

"you know i didn't ask for any of this! i wish i could just be doing the things that a normal teenager does but i don't have a-"

"Don't give me that crap! Your always on about how you hate attention and being in charge but all the time your practically screaming for the chance to make a scene" Ron interrupted.

The raven-haired boy felt something snap, like a dam and all his anger burst forth. In two quick strides he had crossed the kitchen, grabbed the red-head by the scruff of the neck and pointed his wand at his neck.

"you know maybe Malfoy was right, maybe i shouldn't have made friends with you all of those years ago. All you've ever done is make things hard for me" Harry said, voice quiet and measured, face inches away from Rons.

Rons eyes were wild and he said "see! he's mental! why would anyone listen to him, i think he only wants to kill you-know-who so he can take his place".

That really was to much for Harry and he saw red. He didn't even have to speak a curse for his magic to surge forth and suddenly the furious red-head had an angry welt on his face from what looked to be a powerful stinging hex.

Some of Harry's sense started to return and he looked behind him to see a crowd of people, all of whom looked a mixture between terrified and shocked. Guilt flooded his insides turning his stomach to lead and dropping a now terrified Ron he pushed through the crowd, stepped back into the floo and went back to where he just came from.

When he arrived at the headmistresses office he didn't even stop to explain he grabbed a handful of powder and shouted his final destination. He felt dirty and dangerous. No matter what Ron had said he should have had better control than that.

He was accused of wanting to be a dark lord and what was his reaction? to prove his accuser right. He had no idea what to do, in 10 seconds he had just alienated his entire family and he felt hopeless and alone and confused.

When he stepped into Grimmauld place he found himself at the end of three wands and he held his hands up in a placating gesture. The wands were immediately dropped and Draco said "sorry, we didn't know you'd be back tonight and were just a bit on edge".

The dark-haired boy grunted in acknowledgement and then stormed past the three just wanting to get to Sirius' room where he could be alone with his guilt.

He was vaguely aware of the sound of footsteps following him and he said "I'm not really in the mood for company right now".

"thats a bit of an understatement you look like shit, whats wrong?" came the voice of Draco.

"if you can see that i don't want company then why are you here?" demanded Harry not a little rudely but it didn't seem to bother Draco as he was still following him.

"how many times have i told you, brooding is pointless. If I come with you we can talk about the problem and then you can begin to plot your revenge."

At the word revenge Harry's stomach flipped and his guilt increased ten fold. "there is no one to get revenge on, this is all my fault"

"we'll just see about that. Tell me what happened first and then I will determine who the fault lies with." Draco replied sounding determined yet amused.

Finally they reached the door to Sirius' room and when he got inside Harry immediately dropped onto the bed face down. He heard the door shut and found that he didn't have the energy to argue with the blonde.

"so... what happened. I thought you were going back the Weasleys." asked Draco sounding genuinely interested.

Harry didn't know whether it was the honest interest or whether he just needed to tell someone but he found himself reciting the whole incident to the blonde who remained silent through the whole story.

"and then i just came back here because i had no where else to go and i have no idea why i just told you all that" finished Harry finding that surprisingly he felt slightly better, like someone had taken away some of the lead that seemed to have coated his organs.

There was silence for a while and Harry lifted his head from its place, buried in the quilts, to look at Draco who finally said "well personally i think the Weasel deserved a hex".

At this Harry groaned and dropped his head back down into into its cocoon of blankets.

"what? he accused you of being self Centred and of wanting to be the next dark lord. Some body needed to hex him. Hes been intolerable throughout my whole stay there and the way he has been behaving is not the way that a best friend should act." He said sounding like he was trying to convince Harry to side with him.

"But by hexing him i was just proving him right. I am mad." Harry replied, his tone dejected and at this Draco actually laughed.

"You think that if someone called The Dark-Lord names that he didn't like he would just hit them with a stinging hex? They would be dead before they even realised what they had done. What you did was react how any normal teenager would when provoked. Yes you were violent but you were just having a fight. You are not normally a violent person and this is just one of the many ways you and the Dark-Lord are different".

Harry raised his head again and looked at Draco with gratitude. What he was saying actually made sense,except the violence thing- looking back he realised that he was violent many more times than he was comfortable with but he decided not to mention it . Its not like he used the cruciatus or anything. Suddenly Harry realised just who had been trying to console him.

"why do you care?" he asked looking at the blonde like he had grown a second head.

Draco looked panicked for a second but then he said " i don't but its not like i want you moping around here for days on end making the already dark mood here even darker"

It sounded like a reasonable excuse but something in his tone made Harry not quite believe him. For now he decided to let it slide and just watch Draco closely.

Harry offered a weak smile and said "git" to which Draco just chuckled and said

"and now that all that horrible Gryffindor behavior is out of the way i should probably go and explain to my parents."

Harry didn't reply, he just grunted to signal his acceptance and when he heard the door open and close he rolled over to face the ceiling. Fair enough He and Malfoy had been working at trying to be nice but that was the nicest they had ever been to each other and it made Harry feel strange.

With this new feeling to explore Harry lay there late into the night not moving or talking just thinking.

**Please please, i know i don't deserve it but review?**

**xx**


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